B-2 Spirit stealth bomber visit to RAAF Base Amberley a show of support and deterrence
The arrival of the highly classified, nuclear-capable $3.17 billion B-2 Spirit stealth bomber in Queensland ought to get tongues wagging, but its future here is shrouded in secrecy. SEE THE VIDEO, CLOSE-UP PHOTOS
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The latest mission by three of the world’s most highly classified and deadly aircraft – the nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit stealth bomber – to Queensland is shrouded in mystery, but military authorities have been able to share some secrets about their presence here.
Three United States Air Force (USAF) Northrop B-2 Spirits, also known as the stealth bomber, and personnel from 509th Bomb Wing and 131st Bomb Wing are currently based out of Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley, and it’s about sending a message about a “ready and lethal force” that also serves as a deterrent.
The most expensive aircraft in the world, the $A3.17bn strategic bomber has enhanced stealth capabilities, with a distinct design and a wingspan of 52m, while it has the capacity to deliver both conventional and nuclear weapons.
This is the second deployment of the stealth bomber to Australia following its last visit in 2022, with the purpose of the current deployment to enhance the deepening of air-to-air integration between Australia and the United States of America.
The B-2s have been flying regularly out of RAAF Base Amberley at night and on weekends and have been spotted taking to the skies above Ipswich and the Scenic Rim by eagle-eyed onlookers. As part of the current bomber taskforce mission, one of the exercises undertaken out of RAAF Base Amberley, saw the B-2s fly over 4800km to the joint naval support facility at Diego Garcia, where the stealth bombers landed, refuelled, and took off while leaving the engines running the entire time.
Known as hot pitting, the practice enhances the readiness of the B-2 to be able to quickly respond to any potential crisis or challenges across the globe.
United States Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel Justin Meyer of the 110th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, who is the first USAF pilot to surpass 2,000 flight hours in the B-2 Spirit, knows the aircraft better than most.
“The B-2 is the only worldwide stealth penetrating platform that is fully capable of conventional and nuclear as well, to basically fly anywhere at any time,” Lt-Col. Meyer said.
“When you look at a stealth platform like the B-2 here, it is 80 per cent shape and 20 per cent materials, and that is purely a physics thing on how you actually create stealth.
“That’s about all I can say.”
Lt-Col. Meyer said that the bomber task mission visit to Australia serves as a show of support and deterrence.
“Our mission here is very simple, that is to provide a ready postured force in order to provide support to our combatant commanders,” he said.
“While we are here, we have actually been integrating with our bombers, with the US forces, our joint forces, as well as our allied partners, to create a strong and show strength and interoperability between the two nations.
“It’s important that we show a ready and lethal force that is here as a combined joint team for the Indo-Pacific theatre.
“We do these bomber task force missions in order to kind of show support and deterrence across the globe.
“We’ll continue to do missions out here at Amberley and other locations to deter and prevent aggression from other threats.”
As for how long the B-2 Spirit fleet will be in Australia for, Lt-Col. Meyer guarded their movements.
“We’ll be here for a while,” he said.
Group Captain Paul Jarvis OC of No. 82 Wing RAAF said the bomber task force mission visit meets Australia’s desire to deter threats as part of the National Defence Strategy unveiled this year.
“The National Defence Strategy earlier this year called out the importance of showing capability to achieve deterrence,” Group Captain Jarvis said.
“Australia, by itself, isn’t going to deter a major power that wants to do something, – it’s about our relationships with other nations and working together.”
Group Captain Jarvis said the mission presents a unique opportunity for the RAAF to work with the aircraft for a dedicated period of time and focus on integration.
“We don’t get to work with the B-2s that often, they’re a small community and they’re sent off doing all sorts of things,” he said.
“Working in smaller packages, like we are here, and focusing on the detail and just ironing out little hiccups whilst we’re happily in peacetime, and we have enough time to brief, execute, debrief, roll the lessons into a couple of days later and do it again and prove that the fix that we identified worked that’s really, really important training.”
As of 2024, there are 19 B-2s in service across the world, with one aircraft destroyed in a crash moments after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in 2008, while another aircraft was damaged after catching fire following an emergency landing in Missouri in 2022.
The United States Air Force’s fleet of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers are set to retire in 2032, when they will be replaced by the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider.
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Originally published as B-2 Spirit stealth bomber visit to RAAF Base Amberley a show of support and deterrence
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