The small number of B-2s in the Air Force\u2019s inventory\u2014and the labor-intensive process of maintaining its stealth coating\u2014put ongoing maintenance costs as high as $200,000 per flight hour.<\/p>\n
The B-2 Spirit holds the record as the\u00a0most expensive plane ever built, with a unit cost of roughly $2.1 billion. The stealth bomber\u2019s astonishing price tag came in large part because of the massive investment in research and development for its stealth technology, and the fact that only 21 of the aircraft were ever built.<\/p>\n
But the B-2\u2019s initial cost is only one part of its enormous expense. The bomber also has an astronomical ongoing flight cost, with estimates ranging from $150,000 to $200,000 per hour. The costs stem not from fuel consumption or crew size, but from stealth maintenance, hyper-specialized infrastructure, and a tiny production run that prevented economies of scale. Sustaining such an expensive aircraft is a major factor in the Air Force decision to retire the B-2 in the near-future\u2014ironically before the venerable B-52 Stratofortress, which the B-2 was introduced to replace.<\/p>\n
The B-2 Spirit\u2019s Specifications Year Introduced: 1997 (USAF initial operational capability) Number Built: 21 (19 still operational) Length: 69 ft (21.0 m) Wingspan: 172 ft (52.4 m) Weight (MTOW): ~336,500 lb (152,200 kg) Engines: Four General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofans (~17,300 lbf thrust each) Top Speed: \u2248630\u2013650 mph (~1,010\u20131,045 km\/h) \/ ~Mach 0.95 Range: ~6,000 nmi (6,900 mi, 11,112 km) unrefueled (intercontinental with aerial refueling; global reach) Service Ceiling: ~50,000 ft (15,240 m) Loadout: Internal weapons bays; roughly ~40,000 lb (\u224818,000 kg) of ordnance \u2014 nuclear and conventional mission sets (B61\/B83 certified historically), precision-guided bombs (JDAM, SDB), and select standoff munitions depending on loadout Aircrew: 2 (pilot and mission commander) B-2 Arithmetic: One Hour of Flight, 50 Hours of Maintenance<\/p>\n
The B-2 Spirit uses a generation-old form of radar-absorbent material (RAM), which is far more maintenance-dependent than more modern stealth coatings. The earlier designs require hand-applied coatings that degrade easily when exposed to rain, heat, sand, fuel, or general environmental exposure and must then be re-applied. This forces the Air Force to accommodate their B-2\u2019s in climate-controlled (and therefore expensive) hangars with specially trained (and therefore expensive) technicians.<\/p>\n
Because the B-2\u2019s RAM coating is so sensitive, even small damage or imperfections can change the aircraft\u2019s radar signature, compromising the aircraft\u2019s survivability in the denied air spaces she was designed to\u00a0penetrate. Fixing minor imperfections requires \u201ctouch labor\u201d after nearly every flight to restore the aircraft\u2019s stealth capabilities. Today\u2019s stealth coatings, like those found on the F-35 and the forthcoming B-21, are more robust and less labor-intensive\u2014emphasizing the inconvenience of the B-2\u2019s maintenance needs. Basically, the B-2 requires about 50-60 maintenance hours for each hour flown.<\/p>\n
Unlike an F-15 or an F\/A-18, the B-2 can\u2019t simply be parked outdoors; its RAM coating is far too sensitive. Instead, the B-2 must be stored in temperature- and humidity-controlled shelters to prevent RAM deterioration. Because these hangars are expensive and difficult to build, only a few bases have them, making B-2 deployment difficult and planning-intensive. The bases that can house the B-2\u2014Whiteman AFB in Missouri, Andersen AFB in Guam, and Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean\u2014require millions in specialized construction. This limits the B-2\u2019s strategic flexibility and increases operational costs.<\/p>\n
Most Air Force Planes Have Economies of Scale. The B-2 Doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Only 21 B-2s were ever built. 20 entered service, and one was later destroyed after a 2008 accident on Guam, leaving only 19 in use today. Despite this tiny fleet, the B-2 requires a large stable of mechanics, engineers, and specialists. So the labor costs per aircraft are significantly higher when compared to varieties of aircraft with fleet sizes measuring in the hundreds, where repetitive tasks can be performed efficiently.<\/p>\n
The B-2\u2019s nuclear missions drive costs up even further. As a platform tasked with delivering nuclear weapons, the B-2 must adhere to stringent nuclear readiness standards. This adds inspections,\u00a0security, and additional training and certification\u2014the partial costs of maintaining the air-based portion of the US nuclear triad.<\/p>\n
The arrival of the\u00a0B-21 Raider\u00a0will soon force the Air Force to retire the B-2. The B-21, another flying-wing stealth bomber, applies lessons\u00a0learned\u00a0from the rigors of B-2 maintenance. The B-21 has modern stealth coatings and modular structures. And unlike the B-2, the B-21 is expected to enter mass production, dispersing costs across a fleet that will likely be at least five times larger than the B-2 fleet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The small number of B-2s in the Air Force\u2019s inventory\u2014and the labor-intensive process of maintaining its stealth coating\u2014put ongoing maintenance costs as high as $200,000 … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,3,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation","category-military","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1453"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1455,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1453\/revisions\/1455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/talesofmotivations.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}