The B-2 is one of the last remaining “carpet bomb” style bombers left in the US arsenal. If you imagine bombing in your head as just a plane dropping a massive torrent of bombs over a large area, that’s the B-2. The US still has the B-52 of course, but it’s ancient in comparison, so that leaves this. One of them can drop 80 500kg bombs on a civilian population in a single pass
They’re using it not for the stealth value, but the pure terror value of carpet bombing civilians. It being stealthy is just ensuring they can’t be reprised against
Jesus this is grim they’re resorting to tactics they haven’t used since Vietnam.
I can’t say for sure how they’re using it - a bomber that big can carry fewer, larger weapons, after all - but it’s more to say that the B-2 isn’t a small tactical bomber, like an Su-34 or something. It can absolutely be used to level an entire neighbourhood in a single pass, if the US willed it
The B-2 is one of the last remaining “carpet bomb” style bombers left in the US arsenal. If you imagine bombing in your head as just a plane dropping a massive torrent of bombs over a large area, that’s the B-2. The US still has the B-52 of course, but it’s ancient in comparison, so that leaves this. One of them can drop 80 500kg bombs on a civilian population in a single pass
They’re using it not for the stealth value, but the pure terror value of carpet bombing civilians. It being stealthy is just ensuring they can’t be reprised against
I was under the impression that the b-2 had a smallish payload due to it stealth constraints but maybe that was just in comparison to the B-52.
Jesus this is grim they’re resorting to tactics they haven’t used since Vietnam.
I can’t say for sure how they’re using it - a bomber that big can carry fewer, larger weapons, after all - but it’s more to say that the B-2 isn’t a small tactical bomber, like an Su-34 or something. It can absolutely be used to level an entire neighbourhood in a single pass, if the US willed it
b2 can carry 40,000lb payload, b-52 is 70,000lb
And everyone forgets about the B-1, which can carry even more 500 pound bombs than the B-52.