Message posted by JoeinTX on May 23, 2009 at 22:10:52 PST:
BUT, when a few large precision weapons need to plopped onto a reactor or a mountain bunker in contested airspace......then it is the best airplane for you.
Today we see that the replacing the entire B-52 fleet with B-2s would have been immensely expensive.......but 25 years ago it would have been a hands down preferred way to go about it.
I will disagree with you on one thing. The B-2 good for more than airshows. But, it is a specialty airplane. It is not good, from a cost and operations standpoint, for flying race-track patterns over Afghanistan dropping SDBs on demand from Special Operations units. The B-52 (heck, even modified C-130s) could do that job far more cost effectively.
In short, it has a place but it is a niche role. You fire it up and launch it at times of extreme national importance.
One wonders what a bomber fleet of 1986 produced B-2s would be performing/costing today versus what we have today. ????
In Reply to: Re: Spirit and Raptor photos posted by Mark on May 23, 2009 at 5:17:36 PST:
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