Video Shows B-2 Spirit Flight Operations (with Low and Loud Overhead Passes) at RAF Fairford

“After a five-hour training mission the B-2 Spirits returned and landed on runway 27 at RAF Fairford where I waited under the flight line for the overhead passes,” Dafydd Phillips.

Taken at RAF Fairford by our friend Dafydd Phillips, the cool video in this post features B-2 flight operations during the Spirit recent deployment to RAF Fairford.

“Three Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit bombers were deployed and I was fortunate to capture two of them taxiing to the runaway and taking off. After a five-hour training mission they returned and landed on runway 27 where I waited under the flight line for the overhead passes,” Phillips explained.

As already reported on Aug. 27, 2019 three U.S. Air Force (USAF) B-2A Spirit Stealth Bombers arrived to RAF Fairford under the call signs DEATH11 (Spirit of New York), 12 (Spirit of Georgia) and 13 (Spirit of Mississippi) from Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB) in Missouri.

The jets belonged to the 509th Bomb Wing (BW).

Whiteman AFB is the only operational base for the B-2.

The B-2 provides the penetrating flexibility and effectiveness inherent in manned bombers. Its low-observable, or “stealth,” characteristics give it the unique ability to penetrate an enemy’s most sophisticated defenses and threaten its most valued, and heavily defended, targets. Its capability to penetrate air defenses and threaten effective retaliation provides a strong, effective deterrent and combat force well into the 21st century.

The revolutionary blending of low-observable technologies with high aerodynamic efficiency and large payload gives the B-2 important advantages over existing bombers. Its low-observability provides it greater freedom of action at high altitudes, thus increasing its range and a better field of view for the aircraft’s sensors. Its unrefueled range is approximately 6,000 nautical miles (9,600 kilometers).

While in the UK, the aircraft conducted a series of training activities in Europe, including the first integration flying training with the RAF F-35B stealth fighters.