When Was The B-2 Bomber Made? These Are The Years It Was Produced

Back in the late Cold War years, the U.S. was racing to stay ahead of the Soviet Union. This led them to develop a new kind of aircraft. This bomber, which was unlike anything the world had ever seen before, had unusual design features and would fly without a tail while barely showing up on radar. Plus, it had the payload capacity of 40,000 pounds — enough to alter the course of war. It was the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, which is still considered a game-changer aircraft by the U.S. military.

But the B-2 Spirit wasn't just built overnight. Its roots stretch all the way back to the 1970s, when Cold War tensions were still high and the U.S. needed a plane that could sneak deep into Soviet airspace without being seen. As a result, the project kicked off under a classified program called the Advanced Technology Bomber, and the real magic began with a test aircraft called Tacit Blue, which first flew in 1982. It was proof that stealthy, radar-evading shapes were more than just theory.

Northrop, now called Northrop Grumman, was chosen to develop the B-2 Bomber in 1976. But it took more than a decade of testing, engineering, and secrecy before the world finally got a glimpse of the B-2 Bomber. Then came the day when the aircraft was officially revealed to the public on November 22, 1988, at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. A few months later, it took to the skies for the first time on July 17, 1989.

Production didn't take long to begin after that first flight, and the very first operational B-2 was delivered to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on December 17, 1993. That would become the permanent home of the fleet. By April 1997, the aircraft was declared combat-ready, and by December 2003, it had reached full operational capability. Though they initially intended to build 132 aircraft, that number was scaled way back. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the high costs of building the B-2 Bomber — over $2 billion per plane — resulted in the development of only 21 B-2 bombers between 1989 and 2000.

Of the 21 B-2s built, 20 were for active use and one served as a test aircraft. However, not all of them made it. In 2008, one crashed on takeoff in Guam, and another was recently retired following an accident at Whiteman AFB that took place in 2022. Each aircraft was assembled with extreme precision, taking years to complete. And as of 2025, just 19 B-2s remain in service, still flying out of Whiteman AFB.

Even with such small numbers, the B-2 has seen action all over the world. From Serbia in 1999 to more recent missions in Yemen (2024) and Iran (2025), this stealth bomber has remained a critical piece of U.S. air power. Especially as it can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling, it is ideal for global strike missions. While B-2's story isn't over, it does have a successor: the B-21 Raider, another stealth bomber.