In an unprecedented display of aerial force, the U.S. Air Force, through its Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, on 15th April 2024, held the largest fly-off ever for the B -2 Spirits.
Out of the majority of the stealth bombers which comprised twelve aircraft, they formed a substantial part of the country’s fleet to dominate the skies during this coordinated exercise embracing overall strategy and importance.
As part of the yearly Spirit Vigilance readiness exercise, B-2s taxied in a formation called an “elephant walk” before taking off from Whiteman’s lone runway.
This exercise ran from April 8 to April 12 and concluded with a mass fly-off that demonstrated the readiness and capabilities of stealth bombers in the Air Force.
“Visual displays of power can serve as a reminder to potential adversaries of the overwhelming air power that the B-2 can bring to bear,” said a spokesman for the 509th Bomb Wing, which operates the Air Force’s combat B-2 fleet.
The 509th Bomb Wing commander, Col. Keith Butler, further underlined the value of such exercises in maintaining readiness and demonstrating the B-2’s role as a credible and reliable strategic deterrent.
The commander of the 509th Operations Group, Col. Geoffrey Steeves, said that the B-2 provides an integral element within the nuclear triad completed by land-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and Ohio-class submarines alongside that provided by B-52 bombers.
“The B-2 is the only aircraft on the planet that combines stealth, payload, and long-range strike,” Steeves said, speaking to its immense influence on great power competition.
However, the fly-off also brought back memories of the B-2’s benefits-whatever those are-which Whiteman must have known at least something about. There was, after all, a reason for the fleet-wide stand-down it prompted after two separate accidents involving the aircraft at Whiteman in 2022.
A B-2 hit a runway with its landing gear in question in September of that year, and another B-2 had an accident in December 2022. That prompted a months-long safety stand-down that didn’t end until May 2023.
Still, officials insisted that B-2s stay ready to deploy at a moment’s notice if the military needs them.
Since the facility was reopened, the B-2 has flown missions to Europe on NATO tasks, flying over the North Sea as part of the U.K.’s Royal Air Force fighter duties. One of the nicest returns was a flyover of the Rose Bowl in January, reviving the custom in a year when the aircraft did not take part in 2023.
The B-2 Spirit was brought into service in the early 1990s. The aircraft continues to be the backbone of the U.S. Air Force’s strategic toolkit. Fewer than two dozen have been built, and after a 2008 crash, the fleet is now dwindling to 20 aircraft.
Even though this remains an integral part of the national defense, the combat B-2s are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, whose fleet is likely to be retired once the B-21 Raider, another flying wing from Northrop Grumman, enters the service significantly in the 2030s.
Not only did the recent fly-off show that the B-2 fleet was operationally ready, but it also sent a very clear message to potential adversaries about the strategic air power of the United States.