In what could be a big setback to the US Air Force's preparedness, its entire fleet of B-2 stealth bomber planes has been grounded.
The decision was taken after a bomber suffered an in-flight malfunction on 10 December 2022, and was forced to make an emergency landing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, after which it caught fire. No one had been injured.
The development is significant since the B-2 bomber and the B-52 Stratofortress comprise the aerial unit of America's nuclear triad.
The B-2 has been regularly deployed to the Indo-Pacific and more recently to Europe as a show of force. During the standdown the entire fleet will be inspected, 509th Bomb Wing spokeswoman Air Force Master Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio said.
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The B-2 bombers will also not perform flyovers at the college bowl games. The B-2 was scheduled to fly over the 2023 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game but it will be replaced by the B-1 Lancer, the 509th Bomb Wing said in a statement.
The B-2 stealth bomber took its first flight in 1989 and its flying-wing design formed the base of its eventual replacement, the B-21 Raider, which was introduced this month. The B-21 is scheduled to make its first flight next year.
In Sept. 2021 another B-2 at Whiteman had to make an emergency landing after the hydraulics system failed, resulting in the bomber's landing gear collapsing. The bomber's left wing dragged for about a mile before the aircraft came to a halt, resulting in at least $10 million in damage to the aircraft.
(With agency inputs)