/9J
    1proved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789ROO0300810002-8
    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
    10-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    rons appear to have been
    replaced by computer-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
    58
    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.
    TIME, MAY 2,1988
    iproved For Release 2000/08/08 : CIA-RDP96-00789ROO0300810002-8
    The Air Force's drawing confirmed that its secretB-2 isaflyingwing