#501 B-2A Spirit
Purchased products will not feature the Squadron Prints watermark
Description
Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 501 - B-2A Spirit, 88-0329 \"Spirit of Missouri\", 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
The 393rd Bomb Squadron entered the 21st Century early, with the arrival of the world\'s first operational B-2A Advanced Technology “Stealth” Bomber, the “Spirit of Missouri”, on 17 December 1993. Built by the prime contracting team of Northrop-Grumann, the B-2A is an air refuelable, long range bomber capable of sustained operations anywhere in the world, employing a variety of conventional or nuclear weapons. Combining stealth technology and state-of-the-art avionics, the B-2A is designed to penetrate enemy defenses and destroy high value targets with pinpoint accuracy. Similar in appearance to designs made famous by Jack Northrop in the late 1940s, the aircraft is a flying wing, incorporating advanced stealth technology to minimize the aircraft’s observability in any of the spectra, including radar, infrared, visual, acoustic, and electromagnetic. The fuselage blends smoothly into the wing surface, while the low profile, saw-toothed engine inlets on each side of the aircraft supply air to the four General Electric F118-GE-100 power plants buried deep inside the wings. The B-2A achieves precision bombing accuracy through the combination of Global Positioning System, astro-inertial and inertial navigation systems, and a synthetic aperture radar system capable of producing near-photograph quality images. All bombs are carried internally to preserve the aircraft\'s all-important low observability. The bomber boasts an unrefueled range of 6,000 nautical miles, while one refueling extends its range to approximately 10,000 nautical miles, enabling the B-2A to strike any target on the world with a minimum of support from other aircraft. Redundant computer systems automatically manage all aircraft functions from navigation and bombing systems to the flight controls and defensive systems. The hand-picked aircrews consist of a mission commander and pilot, both experts in all aircraft systems and employment capabilities. The crews of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, descendants of the aviators who ended World War II with two Atomic missions over Japan, are proud to fly the most technologically advanced and capable military aircraft in the world.