Northrop B - 2 Spirit The B - 2 Spirit is a unique stealth heavy bomber built with flying wing and is built by Northrop Grumman for the United States Air Force . They are designed to penetrate areas of highly dense anti - aircraft defenses that would be hard or impossible to penetrate by conventional aircraft . Description . History . The B - 2 Spirit was the product of Advanced Technology Bomber ( ATB ) project that began in 1979 . The project came down to two contestants . One from Northrop / Boeing and the other from Lockheed / Rockwell . Each received a study contract for further work . On October 20 , 1981 the Northrop / Boeing design was chosen over the Lockheed / Rockwell design and received the designation B - 2 and the name " Spirit " . A procurement of 132 aircraft was planned and was later reduced to 75 . When the Soviet Union fell in the early 1990s and the B - 2 ' s primary cold war mission was effectively eliminated . Budgetary issues brought the B - 2 ' s production to a halt in 1992 with 20 having been produced . In 1996 a prototype model of the B - 2 was converted to operational standards of the time bringing the number of B - 2 ' s to 21 . Design . The B - 2 ' s " stealth " capabilities come from composite materials , special coatings and flying wing design , which reduces the number of leading edges . Many of the specifics of the B - 2 ' s " stealth " remain classified . The engines are buried within the wing to conceal the induction fans and hide their exhaust . Each B - 2 requires a climate - controlled hangar large enough for its 172 - foot wingspan to protect the operational integrity of its sophisticated radar absorbent material and coatings . The U . S . Air Force reports its range as approximately 6 , 000 nautical miles ( 6 , 900 mi ; 11 , 000 km ) . It combines GPS Aided Targeting System ( GATS ) with GPS - aided bombs such as Joint Direct Attack Munition ( JDAM ) . This uses its passive electronically scanned array APQ - 181 radar to correct GPS errors of targets and gain much better than laser - guided weapon accuracy when " unguided " gravity bombs are equipped with a GPS - aided " smart " guidance tail kit . It can bomb 16 targets in a single pass when equipped with 1 , 000 or 2 , 000 - pound ( 450 kg or 900 kg ) bombs , or as many as 80 when carrying 500 lb ( 230 kg ) bombs . The B - 2 has a crew of two : a pilot in the left seat , a mission commander in the right , and has provisions for a third crew member if needed . Operational History . The first operational aircraft , christened " Spirit of Missouri " , was delivered to Whiteman Air Force Base , Missouri , where the fleet is based , on 17 December 1993 . The B - 2 reached initial operational capability ( IOC ) on 1 January 1997 . Kosovo War . The B - 2 has seen service in four campaigns . Its combat debut was during the Kosovo War in 1999 . It was responsible for destroying 33 % of selected Serbian bombing targets in the first eight weeks of U . S . involvement in the War . During this war , B - 2s flew non - stop to Kosovo from their home base in Missouri and back . The B - 2 was the first aircraft to deploy GPS satellite guided JDAM " smart bombs " in combat use in Kosovo . War in Afghanistan . The B - 2 has been used to drop bombs on Afghanistan in support of the War in Afghanistan . With the support of aerial refueling , the B - 2 flew one of its longest missions to date from Whiteman Air Force Base , Missouri to Afghanistan and back . War in Iraq . During the War in Iraq , B - 2s operated from Diego Garcia and an undisclosed " forward operating location " . Other sorties in Iraq have launched from Whiteman AFB . This resulted in missions lasting over 30 hours and one mission of over 50 hours . The designated " forward operating locations " have been previously designated as Gaum and RAF Fairford , where new climate controlled hangars have been constructed . B - 2s have conducted 27 sorties from Whiteman AFB and 22 sorties from a forward operating location , releasing more than 1 . 5 million pounds of munitions , including 583 JDAM " smart bombs " in 2003 . Operation Odyssey Dawn . In March 2011 , B - 2s were the first US aircraft into action in Operation Odyssey Dawn , the UN mandated enforcement of the Libyan no - fly zone . Three B - 2s dropped 40 bombs on a Libyan airfield in support of the UN no - fly zone . Accident . On 23 February 2008 , a B - 2 crashed on the runway shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam . The crash of the Spirit of Kansas , 89 - 0127 , which had been operated by the 393rd Bomb Squadron , 509th Bomb Wing , Whiteman Air Force Base , Missouri , and which had logged 5 , 100 flight hours , was the first ever crash of a B - 2 . The two officer crew attempted to save the bomber , but as one of its wings began to " hook " the ground , they ejected from the aircraft and survived the crash . The aircraft was completely destroyed , a total loss estimated at US $ 1 . 4 billion . Chief of Air Combat Command General John Corley stated that the B - 2 " rotated early , rotated excessively , stalled , and then dragged the left wingtip " . The pilots then ejected and the aircraft ran off the side of the runway and burned . No munitions were on board , because the crew was reportedly flying the aircraft , along with three other B - 2s and respective crews , to Whiteman Air Force Base following a temporary deployment to Guam . A B - 2 already in the air was called back to Andersen following the crash , where it and the other B - 2s were grounded until an initial investigation into the crash was complete . The commander of the 509th Bomb Wing , Brig . Gen . Garrett Harencak , followed up on the incident by temporarily suspending flying operations for all 20 remaining B - 2s to review procedures . The findings of the investigation stated that the B - 2 crashed after " heavy , lashing rains " caused water to enter skin - flush air - data sensors , which feed angle of attack and yaw data to the computerized flight - control system . The water distorted preflight readings in three of the plane ' s 24 sensors , causing the flight - control system to send an erroneous correction to the B - 2 on takeoff . Because of the faulty readings , the flight computers determined inaccurate airspeed readings and incorrectly indicated a downward angle for the aircraft , which contributed to an early rotation and an un - commanded 30 - degree pitch up and left yaw , resulting in the stall . The B - 2 fleet returned to flight status on 15 April 2008 . Specifications ( B - 2A Block 30 ) . General characteristics Performance Armament Later avionics and equipment improvements allow B - 2A to carry JSOW , GBU - 28 , and GBU - 57A / Bs as well . The Spirit is also designated as a delivery aircraft for the AGM - 158 JASSM when the missile enters service .