2 days ago
I visited the only B-2 stealth bomber on display in the world. Take a closer look.
The advanced warplanes, which cost around $2 billion each, can evade radar detection and drop tens of thousands of pounds of nuclear or conventional weapons. They were most recently deployed in Operation Midnight Hammer in June, dropping 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs on Iran's nuclear facilities.
All 19 of the US Air Force's operational B-2 planes are housed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, where access is strictly limited.
However, there is one place in the world where a B-2 is on permanent public display: the National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
I visited the museum in August to see the one-of-a-kind exhibit. Take a look.
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit entered development during the Cold War, and the first plane became operational in 1993. B-2s were used in Operation Allied Force in Serbia in 1999, as well as in Afghanistan and Iraq during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom in the early advanced stealth technologies that make it extremely difficult to detect by radar, a capacity to deploy nuclear and conventional weapons, and an ability to refuel midair for flight times that can exceed 30 hours, the B-2 is one of the most powerful warplanes in the world, and it has a very long reach. No other country operates anything comparable to the combat power and capability of the B-2 bomber.
Technicians conducted over 1,000 hours of temperature testing at McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida and found that the B-2 could withstand temperatures ranging from -65 degrees to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. To commemorate their work, the technicians painted a decorative "Fire & Ice" decal on the nose landing gear panel and signed their art was popular during World War II, when pilots and crew members would often personalize their planes with cartoons, pinups, or tallies of their missions. It's not as common on bombers in active service today.
Air Combat Command prepares and equips Air Force teams to provide fighter power, intelligence, cyber operations, and support for combat missions around the shield-shaped emblem shows a downward-facing sword with wings spread on either side.
The "509th" and "Follow us" reference the origins of the modern 509th Bomb Wing, which operates B-2 World War II, the historic 509th Composite Group was responsible for deploying nuclear weapons. The B-29 Superfortress bombers that dropped the first atomic bombs on Japan were part of this motto was "Follow Us, Follow Us, as we usher in the Nuclear Age," according to the US Air Force's official 509th was instrumental in the formation of Strategic Air Command and continues to support US nuclear deterrence.
I found the B-2 to be one of the most memorable exhibits at the museum. The National Museum of the US Air Force features around 350 planes and missiles over 19 acres of exhibit space — among which were an Air Force One used by eight US presidents, Titan and Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles, and the B-29 that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki — but seeing one of the world's most advanced warplanes up close was a memorable experience.
