Most Expensive Military Plane
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B-2 Spirit: $2.4 billion |
The B-2 bomber was so costly that Congress cut its initial 1987 purchase order from 132 to 21. (A 2008 crash leaves the current number at 20.) The B-2 is hard to detect via infrared, acoustic, electromagnetic, visual or radar signals. This stealth capability makes it able to attack enemy targets with less fear of retaliation. In use since 1993, the B-2 has been deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit (also known as the Stealth Bomber) is an American strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is able to deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty 500 lb (230 kg)-class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
Development originally started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration, and its performance was one of the reasons for his cancellation of the B-1 Lancer. ATB continued during the Reagan administration,
but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement
of the B-1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development.
Designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman with assistance from Boeing, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost including development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997.
Because of its considerable capital and operational costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The winding-down of the Cold War
in the latter portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for
the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating
Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s
and 1990s, Congress slashed initial plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21.
In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, and the crew ejected safely. A total of 20 B-2s remain in service with the United States Air Force.
Though originally designed primarily as a nuclear bomber, the B-2 was first used in combat to drop conventional bombs on Serbia during the Kosovo War in 1998, and saw continued use during the wars in Iraq and Afghanisthan. B-2s were also used during the 2011 Libyan civil war.
Program costs and procurement
A procurement of 132 aircraft was planned in the mid-1980s, but was later reduced to 75.
By the early 1990s, the Soviet Union dissolved, effectively eliminating
the Spirit's primary Cold War mission. Under budgetary pressures and
Congressional opposition, in his 1992 State of the Union Address, President George H.W. Bush announced B-2 production would be limited to 20 aircraft.
In 1996, however, the Clinton administration, though originally
committed to ending production of the bombers at 20 aircraft, authorized
the conversion of a 21st bomber, a prototype test model, to Block 30 fully operational status at a cost of nearly $500 million.
In 1995, Northrop made a proposal to the USAF to build 20 additional aircraft with a flyaway cost of $566 million each.
The program was the subject of public controversy for its cost to American taxpayers. In 1996, the General Accounting Office
(GAO) disclosed that the USAF's B-2 bombers "will be, by far, the most
costly bombers to operate on a per aircraft basis", costing over three
times as much as the B-1B
(US$9.6 million annually) and over four times as much as the B-52H
($US6.8 million annually). In September 1997, each hour of B-2 flight
necessitated 119 hours of maintenance in turn. Comparable maintenance
needs for the B-52 and the B-1B are 53 and 60 hours respectively for
each hour of flight. A key reason for this cost is the provision of
air-conditioned hangars large enough for the bomber's 172 ft (52.4 m)
wingspan, which are needed to maintain the aircraft's stealthy
properties, particularly its "low-observable" stealthy skins. Maintenance costs are about $3.4 million a month for each aircraft.
The total "military construction" cost related to the program was
projected to be US$553.6 million in 1997 dollars. The cost to procure
each B-2 was US$737 million in 1997 dollars, based only on a fleet cost
of US$15.48 billion.
The procurement cost per aircraft as detailed in GAO reports, which
include spare parts and software support, was $929 million per aircraft
in 1997 dollars.
The total program cost projected through 2004 was US$44.75 billion in
1997 dollars. This includes development, procurement, facilities,
construction, and spare parts. The total program cost averaged
US$2.13 billion per aircraft.The B-2 may cost up to $135,000 per flight hour to operate in 2010, which is about twice that of the B-52 and B-1.
