FIRST PEAK AT A STEALTHY PLANE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: STARGATE
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96-00789R000300810002-8
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 4, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 16, 2000
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: May 2, 1988
• Content Type: OPEN

Al proved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000300810002-8
First Peek at a
Stealthy Plane
For nearly ten years, the
Stealth bomber has been a se-
cret in name only. Despite a
hidden budget and a classifi-
cation higher than top secret,
military analysts and avia-
tion buffs have pieced togeth-
er a remarkably detailed pic-
ture of the first nuclear
bomber designed to be al-
most invisible to enemy ra-
dar. Last week the Air Force
acknowledged the plane's
flying-wing shape for the first
time. The Pentagon issued a
drawing of the so-called B-2
and announced that the
bomber will make its maiden
flight sometime this fall in a
30-mile run between Palm-
dale and Edwards Air Force
Base in California.
The B-2's boomerang
shape eliminates the thick
fuselage and vertical tail sec-
tion that reflect radar in con-
ventional planes. Flaps, rud-
ders, elevators and aile-
rons appear to have been
replaced by computer-
controlled nozzles that guide
the aircraft by directing the
flow of the engine's exhaust.
The engines themselves are
nestled above the wings,
shielding them from heat-
seeking detectors on the
ground. The outer skin and in-
ner framework are cast in ra-
dar-absorbing carbon-epoxy
composites. Other stealthy
The Air Force's drawing confirmed that its secret B-2 is a flying wing
/ //,;;~ E-_ - "?,-, M N I t ~'
features might include nonre-
flective paint and a refrigera-
tion system to cool and dissi-
pate telltale exhaust fumes.
Experts point out that the
Air Force drawing may be
somewhat misleading. Sever-
al details, like the placement
of the engine-exhaust outlets,
have been deliberately
masked. Others, including
crew size and maximum pay-
load, along with such flight
characteristics as range, air-
speed and cruising altitude,
remain strictly classified.
The Air Force does acknowl-
edge, however, that the plane
is going to cost more than.
projected. The fleet of 132
bombers, originally priced at
$36.6 billion, could cost twice
as much by the time it is air-
borne in the 1990s.
Approved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789R000300810002-8