--- title: "Look Back At The Birth Of The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber In This Intimate New Video Series" description: "With the upcoming 30th anniversary of the B-2's roll-out, a video series packed full of new images and video spotlights those who made it all happen." date: "2018-10-31" modified: "2018-10-31" authors: - name: "Tyler Rogoway" job_title: "Editor-in-Chief" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/tyler-rogoway" url: "https://www.twz.com/24605/look-back-at-the-birth-of-the-b-2-spirit-stealth-bomber-in-this-intimate-new-video-series" categories: - "Air" - "Air Forces" - "B-2" - "Bombers" - "Stealth" - "U.S. Air Force" tags: - "30 years" - "Aerospace Engineers" - "Anniversary" - "B-2" - "Bomber" - "Cold War" - "Northrop Grumman" - "Recollections" - "Spirit" - "stealth" - "Web Series" --- # Look Back At The Birth Of The B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber In This Intimate New Video Series ![]() *www.twz.com* The [B-2 Spirit]() was [first unveiled to the public]() on November 22nd, 1988. Three decades later, it still captures imaginations and rightfully so. Its striking low-observable flying wing design [looks as otherworldly]() now as it did in the late 1980s and it still contains many secrets even after all these years. Considering [how similar the upcoming B-21]() Raider design appears to be to its forebearer, it's amazing just how much Northrop got right when [designing the world's first stealth]() bomber in an era when the cellular phone was still in its infancy. Now, the plane's maker, Northrop Grumman, has released a number of short but intimate videos to celebrate their stealth bomber legacy as they look forward to bringing its successor to life. The video series, titled [*Crafting History*](), is extremely well produced and offers unique insights into the [Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB)]() program from those who made the B-2 possible. Best of all, each episode's short run-times is absolutely packed with new footage and images of the B-2 dating back to its genesis. So on this, the spookiest day of the year, celebrate America's scariest flying machine—one that's literally named after a ghost—by watching the six installments below. https://youtube.com/embed/mWOtt5WlKuQ https://youtube.com/embed/ejNVnRkbCNg https://youtube.com/embed/b-wK7Tb85d0 It's hard to imagine a USAF without a B-2 in its inventory, but that will be the reality by the early 2030s according to the flying force's [new bomber roadmap](). If the [B-21's development]() continues [along smoothly](), the type will enter service in the middle of the next decade and it will replace the B-2s first before also displacing the B-1B fleet. Although the B-2's very tentative out of service date is still nearly a decade and a half away, the aircraft will still be so sensitive in nature that finding a place for them to rest, or even how to destroy them outright, [remains an unsolved problem](). The stealthy F-117 Nighthawk fleet that came before the B-2 still [suffers from a similar issue]() today, even after it was officially retired a decade ago, albeit a handful of the [jets are still flying today](). https://youtube.com/embed/6DkNUpVmSdM https://youtube.com/embed/bQHKMBI2YPQ https://youtube.com/embed/z34AmroxIHI Even with all the program's challenges and high cost, the B-2s have proven to be [America's top silver bullet weapon]() and a national treasure. With just 20 Spirits in existence, the USAF's ability to make repeated, long-range, high-volume attacks on even the most defended and fortified targets will increase drastically once the far more numerous and [capable B-21 Raider fleet]() becomes a reality. In some ways, the B-2 can be looked at as an operational prototype of sorts, with the B-21 offering Northrop Grumman the opportunity to make the stealth flying-wing bomber concept all that it can be by leveraging modern materials science, existing high-tech components, and most of all, three decades of operational experience with the B-2. With this in mind, the B-21 is unlikely to disappoint, at least in terms of combat capability. With that in mind, the B-21 would not be possible without the dedication of all the people that played a hand in its forbearer's genesis and helped give birth to the stealth bomber era. ***Author's note:*** In all the footage and images presented in the videos, two moments stand out to me as highly interesting. First is this one showing the B-2 taxiing. The long structure atop the jet's center 'hump' is puzzling. It looks way too long and seems to be the wrong shape to be the [aircraft's refueling receptacle](). ![message-editor%2F1541016827386-ad111x.jpeg]() **Youtube Screencap** Second is this image of the mockup of a cockpit. The panel layout is vaguely similar to the one that made it into the B-2 but the B-2 has a two-crew side-by-side cockpit. Was this for a technology demonstrator that predated the actual B-2 itself? Maybe the single station was going to be mirrored for the actual aircraft but there are other oddities. For instance, the panel is smaller, lacking the two lower side-by-side cathode ray multi-function displays. It also has a 'canopy severance' handle. The B-2 doesn't have a canopy but it does have hatches that its ejection seats fire through. A central windscreen support structure also seems to indicate that this is a single seat cockpit concept, or at least a tandem one. ![message-editor%2F1541016762399-aa11cc.jpg]() **Youtube Screencap** What else interesting do you see in these new videos? Let us know in the comments below. *Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com* ## Author Tyler’s passion is the study of military technology, strategy, as well as foreign policy, and he has fostered a dominant voice on those topics in the defense and national security space. Tyler was the creator of the hugely popular defense site *Foxtrot Alpha* before developing *TWZ*, which he continues to lead as the Editor-In-Chief to this day. ### Author social links [Twitter]()