Northrop B-2 Spirit Spirit Stealth Bomber

No tail, no shadow on the radar

10 m · person 1.75 m · behind it, the A380 at the same scale, both seen from above

The story

Eighty years after set the standard layout of nose, wing and tail, the B-2 threw the fuselage and tail away. A pure flying wing has almost no vertical surfaces to bounce radar waves back to an antenna, giving this 170-tonne bomber the radar signature of a small bird. Because it has no tail to keep it straight, it is aerodynamically unstable: adjust the control surfaces hundreds of times a second to keep it in the air.

had built flying wings in the 1940s, among them the YB-49 jet bomber, but without computers they were hard to keep steady and the Air Force cancelled them. Shortly before he died in 1981, he was given clearance to see the secret design for the B-2.

The Cold War ended while it was being built, and the order fell from 132 aircraft to 21, which pushed the cost of each, with its share of development, to about two billion dollars. Its missions are long: in 2001 B-2s flew from Missouri to strike Afghanistan, and one of them stayed in the air for more than 44 hours.

How it works

How a tailless wing turns. The B-2 has no fin. Near each wingtip the trailing edge splits along one hinge line, the upper half rising and the lower half dropping, up to 45° each. The drag of the open surface pulls that wingtip back, and the nose swings toward that side.

The whole aircraftDrag to turn it, and pinch to zoom. Pick a part to fly the camera to it.

Loading the 3D model…

Specifications

Top speed: 1,010 km/h
Wingspan: 52.4 m
Max weight: 170,600 kg
Ceiling: 15,200 m
Range: 11,000 km
In 12 seconds: 3.4 km
Power: 4 × General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofans, 77 kN each

Where it flew

Palmdale, California

Air Force Plant 42, Palmdale. The simulator starts here, over today's ground and imagery of the place.

Fly it yourself

Take the Northrop B-2 Spirit up in 3D, with its real weight, wing area and power.

Take off with no tail and hold it straight.