Northrop B-2 Spirit

what is it?

The Northrop B-2 Spirit is an American nuclear-capable subsonic stealth strategic bomber, often referred to as a "stealth bomber", solely operated by the United States Air Force. A four-engined flying wing and lambda wing with a crew of two to three, it is designed with stealth technology to penetrate sophisticated air defenses. The B-2 was designed by Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) as the prime contractor, with Boeing, Hughes Aircraft Company, and Vought as principal subcontractors.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 52.4 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 1,010 km/htop speed
• range 11,112 kmwithout refuelling
• size 170.6 tmax take-off weight
• built 33made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 37 years ago, in 1989.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 52.4 m: about 12 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 28 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 11,112 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1989-07-17

introduced

1993

status

still flying

number built

33

role

stealth strategic heavy bomber

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Northrop Grumman Corporation, Northrop

engines

4× General Electric F118-GE-100 / General Electric F118

crew

2

length

21 m

wingspan

52.4 m

height

5.2 m

max take-off weight

170.6 t

top speed

1,010 km/h

cruise speed

900 km/h

range

11,112 km

ceiling

15,200 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.