June 21, 2007:
The U.S. Air Force is installing new
bomb racks in its B-2 bombers, that will allow them to carry 80 smart bombs (500 pound ones). To complement
that, the B-2s are also getting Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
radar. AESA systems consist of thousands of tiny radars that can be
independently aimed in different directions. AESA type radars are popular
mainly for their ability deal with lots of targets simultaneously. The B-2 AESA
will enable the bomber to find targets itself, and use one of those 80 JDAMs to
deal with it. Finally, the B-2 is getting a more powerful satellite datalink,
that will enable it to more quickly share AESA or camera data with other
aircraft (including UAVs). With 80 JDAMs, the air force sees the B-2 as a one
aircraft bomber fleet, able to take out 80 different targets.
The B2 is a
complex aircraft that was first used during 1999 Kosovo bombing campaign. It was
difficult to keep operational because the radar deceiving skin of the aircraft
requires a lot of maintenance. For each hour the B-2 is in the air, 53 man
hours of maintenance were required. The air force likes to have 60 percent of
its aircraft ready to fight, but for the B-2 only 33 percent are available.
This has since been improved considerably, but the B-2 still requires more
maintenance than other heavy bombers, like the B-52 or B-1.
The 181 ton B2 was in development throughout the
1980s and went into service in 1992. The B-2 is a combination of radically new
and untried technology that was very advanced, very difficult to perfect and
very, very expensive. Over $25 billion was spent before the B-2 even flew, and
projected costs were over $70 billion for 132 aircraft. Only twenty were built
by 1996, pushing the cost per plane over two billion dollars each. This means
that three B-2s cost more than a nuclear aircraft carrier, and one B-2 cost
more than half a dozen Peacekeeper ("MX") ICBMs and their hardened
shelters. The B 2 can carry 20 tons of bombs for over 8,000 kilometers, or,
with aerial refueling, anywhere on the planet. The stealth makes it possible
for one B-2 to go places that would require a dozen or more aircraft to get
through to. As a result, the air force is treating the B-2 more like a warship,
that can quickly be sent anywhere on the planet, and unleash, in this case, 80
precision bombs. This is an unprecedented capability, which has not really been
used yet. So far, it's been cheaper to send B-52s or B-1s to deliver smart
bombs.