US B-2 stealth bomber lands in UK on round-trip mission

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Dec 2023 17:22

The B-2A Spirit was returning home following participation in an exercise over the North Sea.

A B-2 Spirit from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., flies over an undisclosed location in the US Pacific Command area of operations. (US Air Force)

A US B-2 Spirit stealth bomber reportedly made a landing at the UK air base of Fairford this week after diverting from its round-trip mission from its home base of Whiteman AFB in Missouri, according to media reports.

The B-2A Spirit with the designation 82-1066, known as the "Spirit of America," was returning on Wednesday in the company of another B-2 bomber following participation in an exercise over the North Sea, as detailed by The Aviationist news website.

DEATH31 & DEATH32 (B-2 stealth bombers) wkg BOSTON CENTER to refuel with TEDDY01 (KC-46) on the AR204NE track over New England. 0650 Zulu

Audio via @liveatc & track via @ADSBex pic.twitter.com/SB1irufiKv
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) December 13, 2023

During their intended midair refueling, only one tanker aircraft arrived to meet the pair. Consequently, the "Spirit of America" B-2A bomber diverted to RAF Fairford, while the second bomber proceeded to its home base.

This incident marks the first reported landing of this specific bomber in the United Kingdom.

Not an isolated incident

Last year, the US Air Force grounded all 20 B-2 Spirit bombers after an accident occurred during landing at the Whiteman base in Missouri.

At the time, the Air Force decided to investigate the accident.

It is worth noting that the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses.

A subsonic flying wing with a crew of two, the plane was designed by Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) and produced from 1987 to 2000. The bomber can drop conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as up to eighty 500-pound class (230 kg) Mk 82 JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400-pound (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only acknowledged in-service aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.