The B-2 Spirit is the United States’ foremost stealth bomber, owing much of its premier and cutting edge technology and supremacy in the radar evasion realm to the four General Electric F118-GE-100 non-afterburning turbofan engines. These advanced engines are engineered to compliment the stealth capabilities of the B-2. The F118-GE-100 turbofan engines were developed from the F110 engines commonly used in the F-16 and F-15 fighter aircraft, but adapted to meet the needs of the stealth program.
The famous U-2S reconnaissance aircraft known for its high-altitude performance and long-range endurance also benefits from the reliable F118 engines found in the B-2. Although much of the B-2 program is classified, what we know about the aircraft and the power plant driving this aircraft is truly remarkable. The B-2: A vision born before the collapse of the Soviet Union An iconic symbol of the United States Air Force, the B-2 stealth bomber encompasses some of the most advanced technology in military aviation in order to maintain strategic superiority.
Starting in the 1970s, the B-2 originated from the need to evade radar systems employed by the former Soviet Union. The Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB) Program in the 1970s developed, calling for a next-generation bomber with stealth capabilities that would allow penetration into the Soviet Air Defenses as well as to deliver a nuclear payload undetected. In 1979, then Northrop Corporation (now Northrop Grumman) was awarded the contrac.