The US Air Force's B-2 Spirit nuclear bomber has decided to retire ahead of schedule.
What
Known
December 10 appeared on social networksinformation that a strategic aviation aircraft was damaged as a result of an emergency landing. The incident was later confirmed by the 509th Bomber Wing. It took place at the Whiteman military base in Missouri.
US Navy nuclear bomberwas performing routine operations when a malfunction was detected during the flight. After the emergency landing, a fire started. The extent of the damage to the B-2 Spirit has yet to be assessed.
A similar incident happened last September.of the year. You can see the consequences in the first photo to this material. Then, after an emergency landing, the B-2 Spirit drove off the runway and sang mud with its wing. As a result, the bomber was sent to Plant 42 in Palmdale, where Northrop Grumman carried out extensive repairs.
</ img>
However, in 2021 there was no fire. The pilot had to make an emergency landing due to old springs. The estimated cost of repairing the strategic bomber was more than $10 million.
Note that the US Air Force hasonly 20 B-2 Spirit aircraft, of which about a dozen are permanently deployed. Therefore, any damage is a serious event and a big problem for the service.