Shadow Over the Cold War: The Rise of the B-2 Spirit

The 1970s became a desperate time for America, because the Soviet Union totally dominated America when it came to Air defence systems.

These American nightmares were the S 75 Dvina, S300 and the MiG 25 Foxbat. S75 Dvina is the same system that famously shot down an American Spy plane that was flown from the Peshawar airbase.

It was supposedly a stealth aircraft but it failed to fool the Soviet systems. Then there is the S300 that was the deadliest and American made the B2 for the sole purpose of defeating it.

Last but not the least, there is the interceptor aircraft that was very effective and was the final layer of defense. 

You may think that it was the Cold war, then why was America so scared, it was because if the Soviets had the capability of intercepting a nuclear strike then the threat of a first strike is much more serious.

Also Read: Neural Empires: The Pursuit of Efficient Intelligence

These reasons birthed the B2, but the story of B2 starts in the 1930s with Jack Northrop, who was obsessed with the idea of a flying wing.

America was concerned that Britain might fall to the Axis powers, eliminating the possibility of launching bombing missions from British territory.

This fear led to the request in April 1941 for  a bomber with a 10,000lb payload with a range of 10,000 miles. Northrop responded and received the contract for what became the XB35.

The problem with the XB 35 was the piston engines, this jet only proved that the concept of a flying wing works.

The XB35 birthed the YB 49, It was an American prototype jet powered heavy bomber also developed by Northrop, after WW2.

It truly  embodied the concept of a flying wing, no fuselage, no tail. It was a turbojet powered engine developed by the design of the earlier piston engine of the XB 35.

YB 49 was also a fatal mistake as it,  because it crashed killing 5 crewman including Major Daniel Forbes. Speculation suggests that YB 49 crashed due to excessive pullout loads imposed on the heavy airframe.

This concept caused a lot of unrest and a political killing happened. The XB 35 airframes were ordered to be made scrap and the flight testing of the YB49  was stopped.

This concept slept for 30 years and came to life in the 1980s again, right in the middle of the cold war.

In the early 1970s a DARPA study brought to light the full extent of US vulnerability to Soviet air defense systems and their radar guided SAM missiles. The formal work started as the Project HARVEY by DARPA.

They were trying to make a low observable aircraft or stealth as we know it. This project did kick the way towards a stealth bomber but failed to give decisive results.

Stealth aircrafts only became possible after a mathematician at  Lockheed Martin adopted a mathematical model developed by Petr Ufimtsev, a soviet scientist to develop a computer program named Echo 1. Echo made it possible to predict radar signature of an aircraft made with flat panels.

By the mid 1970s DARPA oversaw the development of the Have Blue, the first practical stealth aircraft. It made its first flight  in 1977, it led directly to the  Nighthawk F117, which became operational in 1983.

Also Read: Two Pakistani astronauts selected for China space programme

President Jimmy Carter was briefed on how the future of aircraft relies on stealth technology and how it is vital for America.

Carter made a controversial decision and cancelled the B1 A project and in its place initiated a new project, a top secret stealth aircraft, It was named the Black Project.

The proposal was submitted and Northrop’ designers' motivation was directly originating from the YB49. Northrop finally wins and his flying wing design now decides the future of the Cold war. The ATB program finally began in 1979.

B2 was made with radar absorbent materials, so no radar could capture it and primary material being Carbon Graphite. Its wingspan was 52.4 meters and length about 21 meters, and top  speed only 0.95 mach.

The plane specifically built for the Soviets never entered their territory, but it did become a nightmare for other countries.

Maybe, it was the right invention but in the wrong hands because it did became a terrifying sight for the Afghans and the Iraqis or maybe it was never meant to exist, but nevertheless it made US the King of AIr by being a Ghost of the Skies.