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Pentagon Moving B-2 Bombers Closer to Baghdad
(Los Angeles Times) John Hendren - Four new $2.5-million maintenance hangars for the batwinged, radar-deflecting B-2 bomber, each serving two planes, will be built on the British-held Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, and one at Fairford, England. The B-2's mission is to operate in the opening strike of a war. "The B-2 bomber was designed specifically to kick the door down and kill targets," said Col. Doug Raaburg, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing. It takes three minutes for a B-2 to drop 16 satellite-guided "smart" bombs. It is the only plane that can carry the 5,000-pound explosive that crew members call "the crowd pleaser," which burrows up to 20 feet into rock and destroys underground bunkers with massive force. Placing B-2s at Diego Garcia frees up bases nearer Iraq to host shorter-range bombers and fighters in Qatar, Kuwait, Turkey, and Jordan. The U.S. Central Command recently made room for the B-2s by moving B-1 bombers from Diego Garcia to Amman, Jordan. Flying a B-2 is something of an act of faith. It has no high-speed afterburner, no missiles to return fire - nothing to protect it but stealth.