B-1 Bomber The B-1B Bomber is a supersonic, multi-mission, long-range conventional bomber that has been serving the US Air Force since 1985. Boeing is partnering with the Air Force to keep the aircraft mission-ready and ensure it can continue flying, even at the current high operational tempo, until 2040 and beyond. Originally designed for nuclear capabilities, the B-1 transitioned to a conventional combat role in the mid-1990s. It has been deployed in nearly continuous combat operations over Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001, with six B-1s dropping 20 percent of the ordnance in Operation Allied Force in 1999.
B-2 Stealth Bomber The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is a heavy American strategic bomber that features low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating anti-aircraft defenses. The bomber has a crew of two and a flying wing design, with the ability to deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons. It is the only acknowledged aircraft capable of carrying large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
The B-2 was developed during the Cold War and designed to penetrate Soviet airspace to attack high-value targets. The total program cost was controversial in Congress due to the aircraft’s high capital and operating costs. As of 2018, twenty B-2s are in service with the US Air Force, and it is planned to operate them until 2032 when they will be replaced by the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider.
The B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet and has a range of over 10,000 nautical miles on internal fuel, with over 6,000 nautical miles on internal fuel alone.
It was first used in combat dropping conventional ordnance during the Kosovo War in 1999, and later served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya.