How Fast Is the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber?

How fast can the B-2 Stealth Bomber fly? Well, we don’t really know. That information is classified. Maybe, when the B-2 is retired over the course of the next decade, the B-2’s speed will finally be revealed, at least we think so.

What we do know is that the B-2 can travel at “high subsonic” speed. Assume somewhere in the Mach 0.7-0.9 range. So, a B-2 probably flies about as fast as you might travel commercially from LAX to JFK. Maybe a little faster.

That’s assuming the “high subsonic” descriptor is accurate. Could the Air Force be downplaying the speed of the B-2 for the sake of causing America’s adversaries to miscalculate for a slower aircraft? Sure, it’s possible.

But the B-2 doesn’t look like it’s built for speed. The airframe looks like it was built for stealth, which for a time, the B-2 was.

B-2 Speed? That's Classified. Sorry 

A lot of information about the B-2 is classified. The B-2 was the world’s first stealth bomber. The B-2 is still the world’s only stealth bomber. So the novelty of the airframe would inspire curiosity, perhaps espionage efforts.

But it’s not just the novelty of the B-2 that has US officials playing their cards close, it’s the capabilities of the platform. The B-2 can deliver either conventional or nuclear ordnance. And when the B-2 debuted it could deliver its ordnance without tripping the air space wires of our enemies. In effect, the Americans had method for sneaking into enemy air space and dropping a nuclear bomb wherever they chose, without detection.

That’s a game-changing geopolitical tool with technical data that the Americans were highly incentivized to protect – and which America’s adversaries were highly incentivized to obtain. The significance of the B-2 has waned over time, in direct ratio to the increase of sophistication of air defense systems.

So, as countries like Russia and China have developed more sensitive aircraft detection and tracking systems, the B-2’s stealth has become more and more outdated.

Today, the B-2 just doesn’t have the sneak-past-enemy-lines ability that it once had. That’s why the B-21 is under development. To give Americans that strategic edge again.

B-2 Bomber Is All Stealth

But for the B-21, like the B-2 before, speed will never be the emphasis. The designers were not building an airframe for speed. For speed, the Americans can rely on the B-1 Lancer (at least until the B-1 itself is retired) or any of their myriad fighter jets. In designing the B-2 compromises were made for the sake of stealth. For example, the engines were likely designed and situated not with a priority for maximizing thrust-to-weight ratio but for minimizing the exhaust signature.

The flight control surfaces were not designed to minimize drag (and hence increase speed) but to minimize the radar cross section (RCS).

Speed has its value, especially in a defensive context, as an interceptor,  for example. But speed means little these days with respect to penetrating air space – until you get to speeds at which an airframe can outrun a missile, that is – then speed becomes relevant again.

But for the B-2, and the forthcoming B-21, speed will not be the point.  

About the Author: Harrison Kass 

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

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