U.S. President Donald Trump introduced an order for an upgraded model of B-2 bombers throughout a speech to the Israeli parliament. Commenting on the operation by B-2s in June to strike Iranian nuclear websites, Trump said: “I had no concept they may do what they did. Frankly, we simply ordered one other 28 of them. Slightly, a bit of improved model. We ordered a complete bunch.” The B-2 is the most costly fight plane ever constructed, with simply 20 serial manufacturing fashions having entered service between 1997 and 2000. The plane’s main overruns in operational prices, and its fragility and excessive upkeep necessities which far exceeded expectations, had been major elements main the Pentagon to terminate prior plans to acquire a a lot bigger fleet of 132 plane. Though the B-2 retains many distinctive capabilities, and even in comparison with the newer B-21 at the moment beneath improvement boasts a for much longer vary and better weapons carrying capability, the president’s declare that manufacturing is ready to renew stays extremely questionable.
Having been out of manufacturing for over 1 / 4 of a century, retooling Northrop Grumman’s amenities for B-2 manufacturing would probably be price prohibitive, notably for a manufacturing run of simply 28 plane. The bomber’s design is taken into account more and more out of date as each radar and stealth applied sciences have superior significantly because it was designed within the late Chilly Warfare period. With the B-21 program having entered the flight prototype levels in November 2023, and the plane scheduled to enter manufacturing round 2030, bringing the B-2 into manufacturing would make little sense. The unprecedented budgetary pressure at the moment confronted by the U.S. Air Power, which is financing the B-21, the Sentinel intercontinental vary ballistic missile program, the F-47 fighter program, continued F-35 procurements, and urgently wanted new tankers, has additional made the potential for funding resumed manufacturing of a Chilly Warfare period bomber seem removed from possible.
At over $2 billion per plane, the B-2 is anticipated to stay the costliest fight plane ever produced for the foreseeable future, with the B-21 anticipated to price roughly 70 % much less per plane, whereas the rival H-20 bomber being developed in China can also be anticipated to price properly beneath $1 billion to acquire. Though the B-2 fleet is anticipated to be retired within the mid-2030s, additional delays to the B-21 program might push this date again. Responding to considerations relating to doable vulnerability in opposition to new generations of air defences, the plane have just lately been upgraded to combine JASSM cruise missiles permitting them to strike targets from safer distances. The plane are additionally anticipated to combine new excessive yield B61-13 nuclear bombs, in addition to a successor to the GBU-57 non-nuclear penetrative bomb that was just lately used in opposition to Iranain targets and is at the moment beneath improvement.
