B-2 Spirit

The B-2 Spirit, sometimes known as the B-2 Bomber, is an American multi-role stealth bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear weapons. A dramatic leap forward in technology, the bomber represented a major milestone in the U.S. bomber modernization program. The B-2 is the most expensive plane built to date, costing approximately $2.2 billion USD per plane. http://www.fas.org/man/gao/gao94217.htm Some writers have suggested that the huge program cost may actually include costs for other black projects that remain classified. The high per-unit cost may also be partially explained by the small number of planes produced coupled with a large research overhead in the B-2 program (see below).

Related Topics:
American - Stealth - Bomber - Nuclear weapons - USD - Black project

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Originally designed to deliver nuclear weapons during the Cold War http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1991/HLM.htm, support for the B-2 dwindled as military spending declined in real dollars during the Clinton Administration. The original procurement of 135 aircraft was later reduced to 75 in the late 1980s. Finally, President George H. W. Bush reduced the final buy quantity to the 21 already bought in his now famous "New World Order" State of the Union speech in January, 1991. In May of 1995, in a study commissioned by Congress, the Institute For Defense Analysis concluded that after the demise of the Soviet Union, there was no need for more B-2s. As a result of public outcry over its cost, opposition from the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs of Staff and increasing opposition in the U.S. Congress, only 21 B-2s have been produced instead of a total of 135 planes as had been proposed. Given that much of the cost of the B-2 was in research and development, the cost per unit would have been much lower if all 135 had been produced. The B-2 can bring massive firepower to bear anywhere on the globe. Its stealth technology is intended to help it penetrate previously impenetrable defenses.

Related Topics:
Nuclear weapons - Cold War - Real dollars - Clinton - George H. W. Bush - 1995 - Soviet Union - Joint Chiefs of Staff

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