BOMBERS
Bombers are for obliterating land objects but need fighter protection.
Primary Mission
The B-2's primary mission is to enable any theater commander to hold at risk and, if necessary, attack an enemy's war-making potential, especially those time-critical targets which, if not destroyed in the first hours or days of a conflict, would allow unacceptable damage to be inflicted on the friendly side.
Significant Milestones
The first B-2 rolled out of the bomber's final assembly facility in Palmdale , Calif. , in November 1988.
It flew for the first time on July 17, 1989 . As of June 1996, three of six full-scale development aircraft continue to fly as part of the flight-test program at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Two of the original development aircraft are undergoing modifications before delivery to the Air Force. President Bill Clinton has directed the first developmental B-2, which had been in flyable storage, to be upgraded to an operational configuration. This announcement increased the number of funded bombers in the B-2 fleet to 21.
On May 6, 1992 , Northrop Grumman, the nationwide B-2 industrial team, and the Air Force were awarded the 1991 Collier Trophy "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America demonstrated in actual use in 1991." The Collier Trophy is awarded annually by the National Aeronautic Association and is widely considered to be the most prestigious aviation award in the United States .
The first B-2 entered the Air Force's operational fleet at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. , on Dec. 17, 1993 .
On Oct. 29, 1994 the Air Force's fourth operational B-2 is named "Spirit of Washington" in Seattle , to honor the people of the state who helped make the B-2 a reality.
As of June 1996, six flight-test vehicles had logged more than 3,800 hours in more than 750 flights; approximately 60 percent of the flight test hours have been completed.
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