Why B-2s didn’t take out bin Laden
August 1st, 2011 | Flightlines | Posted by Scott Fontaine
B-2s weren't used to kill Osama bin Laden because the ordnance required to ensure bunkers were demolished "would be the equivalent of an earthquake." (Air Force photo/ Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald)
If you haven’t yet, read Nicholas Schmidle’s piece in the New Yorker about the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. It’s a fine piece of reporting with a bunch of details you’re guaranteed to be reading for the first time.
And since this is an Air Force blog, it’s worth mentioning the service receives a brief mention. Schmidle talks about the intental debate about how to take down bin Laden. Then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs vice chairman Gen. James Cartwright favored sending B-2s to bomb the compound, which would obviate the risk of having American troops operating on Pakistani soil. From the story:
“But the Air Force then calculated that a payload of thirty-two smart bombs, each weighing two thousand pounds, would be required to penetrate thirty feet below ground, insuring that any bunkers would collapse. ‘That much ordnance going off would be the equivalent of an earthquake,’ Cartwright told me. The prospect of flattening a Pakistani city made Obama pause. He shelved the B-2 option and directed McRaven to start rehearsing the raid.”
Tags: b-2, osama bin laden, whiteman afb
Look at the cute lil’ stealth
June 23rd, 2011 | Flightlines | Posted by Scott Fontaine
The B-2 is a cool plane. It’s stealth. It can fly from Missouri to, well, anywhere and back. It looks sleek. When yours truly was attending the vaunted University of Missouri journalism school, football season usually kicked off with a B-2 flyover from nearby Whiteman Air Force Base (and the Tigers beating up a cupcake opponent).
And now Disney has managed to make the B-2 cute. The Spirit gets a cameo in the trailer for its upcoming movie Planes, which, as far as I can tell, seems to be more focused on a P-51 Mustang launching off an aircraft carrier. But still, the B-2 plush toy can’t be too far behind.