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B-2 stealth bombers make combat debut

B-2 stealth bomber  ALSO: Clinton calls Yeltsin, criticizes Milosevic NATO attack on Yugoslavia begins Yugoslavs ban CNN, two other networks from transmitting from Belgrade RELATED VIDEO President Clinton announces Wednesday afternoon that NATO air attacks against Serbian military targets were under way Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

March 24, 1999
Web posted at: 3:31 p.m. EST (2031 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Pentagon confirmed Wednesday that two B-2 bombers made their combat debut Wednesday, dropping satellite-guided, 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) bombs on Yugoslav targets in the NATO attack code-named Operation Allied Force.

The U.S. part of the mission has been dubbed Operation Noble Anvil by the Pentagon.

The two B-2s took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri for a 15-hour flight to Yugoslavia, refueling in midair over the Atlantic.

The Air Force says the $2.2 billion batwing bombers are nearly invisible to radar and are capable of dropping 16 bombs on as many as 16 different targets.

Use of the B-2 marked a culmination of sorts for a weapon system that became a lightning rod for debate over defense spending since the Reagan presidency.

Total cost for a fleet of 21 B-2s is expected to be $44 billion. The plane is built by Northrop Grumman Corp. near Los Angeles.

The plane first was seen by the public in November 1988 in a much-ballyhooed roll-out ceremony. Since then, technical problems have plagued the bomber: a radar system had difficulty distinguishing mountain ranges from clouds; radar-absorbent paint wore off too quickly; wing skins developed holes; and ejection seats failed to work properly.

Congressional boosters of the B-2 failed repeatedly to expand the program beyond the planned 21 aircraft.

Heavy payload a benefit

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A senior defense official said the B-2 was selected because of its heavy payload -- by comparison, the F-117 Stealth bomber, also used Wednesday, can carry only two bombs -- its ability to attack multiple targets, and its ability to drop weapons precisely at night and in all weather conditions.

The satellite-guidance system on the B-2's conventional bombs can direct the explosive to a target without any visible contact or laser-designator.

With only a pilot and co-pilot aboard, the B-2 also puts fewer crewmen at risk than the B-52, which unleashed cruise missiles from launch points outside Yugoslavia.

B-2s can be shot down -- if they are seen by enemy ground crews or fighter aircraft. Such a development would be seen as a full-blown calamity for the military: the pair of B-2 bombers used Wednesday cost almost as much as a Navy aircraft carrier.

The Air Force has been anxious to prove the weapon's worth but leery of the consequences of a loss.

In 1996, explaining how the B-2 would be used in conventional combat, the then-Air Force chief praised the plane's ability to attack multiple targets.

"Instead of talking about how many sorties are required to bring down a given target set, we look at how many target sets can you engage with one sortie," Gen. Ronald Fogleman said.

But the use of the B-2 Wednesday as only a small part of a strike that involved scores of expensive cruise missiles undercut an argument made by B-2 proponents that its $15,000 bombs would represent a low-cost substitute for cruise missiles.

Conceived in the 1970s, the B-2 only became operational in 1997 after the Air Force and Northrop dealt with spiraling budgets and emerging technical problems. The conversion of the plane from a nuclear bomb-dropper to one with conventional capability further delayed the program.

Military Affairs Correspondent Jamie McIntyre and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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