Key Points and Summary on B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber – The U.S. Air Force is giving its B-2 Spirit stealth bomber a huge communications upgrade to ensure it remains a premier deep-strike asset until the B-21 Raider enters service.
-The modernization effort includes new beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications capabilities, allowing the B-2’s crew to simultaneously send and receive voice and data transmissions for real-time mission planning—a feature not possible with its current systems.
A U.S. Air Force Airman assigned to the 509th Maintenance Group prepares to marshal a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to take off in support of a Bomber Task Force deployment to Australia at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., Aug. 15, 2024. Bomber missions familiarize aircrew with air bases and operations in different Geographic Combatant Commands areas of operations. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Bryce Moore)
-A separate team is also working to enhance the B-2’s survivability by improving its stealth coatings and materials, keeping the nearly 30-year-old bomber at the cutting edge of military technology.
B-2 Stealth Bomber Gets Huge Communications Upgrade
The United States Air Force Life Cycle Management Center has revealed details about a new round of software upgrades, and planned hardware improvements, to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
According to Air Force officials, the ongoing upgrades to America’s most advanced stealth bomber are part of a program to ensure the B-2 remains the world’s premier stealth bomber while work continues on the sixth-generation B-21 Raider.
The B-21 Raider program is on track and continues flight testing at Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facility on Edwards Air Force Base, California. The B-21 will have an open architecture to integrate new technologies and respond to future threats across the spectrum of operations. The B-21 Long Range Strike Family of Systems will greatly enhance mission effectiveness and Joint interoperability in advanced threat environments, strengthening U.S. deterrence and strategic advantage. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The B-21 Raider was unveiled to the public at a ceremony December 2, 2022 in
Palmdale, Calif. Designed to operate in tomorrow’s high-end threat environment, the B-21 will play a critical role in ensuring America’s enduring airpower capability. (U.S. Air Force photo)
The upgrades, overseen by the B-2 Advanced Programs Branch, are part of an ongoing effort to continually modernize America’s most iconic stealth jet amid “emerging threats.”
A total of 19 B-2s are maintained through the program. Every nine years, the planes are put through an extensive maintenance program at Northrop Grumman’s Plant 42 located in Palmdale, California.
In 4 Words: Upgrades Keep Her Young
In a statement by 1st Lt Abbey Duncan of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the latest B-2 communications upgrade program is designed to equip the B-2 stealth bomber with an “upgraded beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications capability.”
The announcement means that the B-2 will be fitted with new equipment that allows it to more effectively communicate over thousands of miles, regardless of terrain or obstacles, utilizing satellite technology. Traditional line-of-sight communication, like radar or radio, requires an unobstructed path between the sender and receiver, meaning older military aircraft are limited in how they communicate depending on terrain, weather, or even the curvature of the earth. Beyond-line-of-sight technology, however, ensures almost constant connectivity.
A 2nd Air Refueling Squadron KC-10 Extender from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., prepares to refuel a B-2 Spirit, during a training exercise near Kansas, Nov. 10, 2016. The KC-10 Extender is an Air Mobility Command advanced tanker and cargo aircraft designed to provide increased global mobility for U.S. armed forces. Although the KC-l0’s primary mission is aerial refueling, it can combine the tasks of a tanker and cargo aircraft by refueling fighters and simultaneously carry the fighter support personnel and equipment on overseas deployments. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Keith James/Released)
Lt Col Robert Allen, Materiel Leader for the B-2 Advanced Programs Branch, described the upgrades as “critical” to ensure operators can “aviate, navigate, communicate, strike their targets, and get home safely.”
Allen also said that the B-2 upgrade “significantly improves the transfer time for real time mission planning data” and allows operators to “simultaneously receive and transmit voice communications and data,” which is not currently possible with existing B-2 systems.
The upgrade will encompass both hardware and software changes to the aircraft, improving the plane’s situational awareness, giving operators access to more information about their surroundings and battlefield conditions. Specific hardware upgrades were not confirmed, though they likely include upgraded and encrypted radios, improved transmission software, and an update to the plane’s threat library, giving it access to known hostile electromagnetic and radar frequencies.
A second Integrated Program Team (IPT) will join the Advanced Communications team, focusing instead on survivability. The team is reportedly also working on improving the bomber’s stealth abilities, developing new technologies that improve its low observable materials and coatings to “enhance its radar cross section signature.”
A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit is prepared for operations ahead of Operation MIDNIGHT HAMMER at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, June 2025.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
The Best Tanks on Earth
AbramsX: The Tank the US Army Wants
