The odds were stacked against the resuscitation efforts of the U.S. Air Force when a B-2 Spirit experienced an incident, resulting in damage to the bomber and fears for getting it back to flight.
Four years ago, in September 2021, the B-2, dubbed the “Spirit of Georgia,” was at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, when it experienced a hydraulic failure, the Air Force said Wednesday.
The failure forced an emergency gear extension and, when landing, a mechanical lock on the left main landing gear failed, causing the left wing to scrape along the runway after the gear collapsed, according to the Air Force press release.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s B-2 System Program Office led the overall effort to repair the B-2.
Col. Jason Shirley, the senior material leader in the program office, called the 509th Maintenance and B-2 System Program Office Engineering team’s response “critical.”
“They quickly recovered the aircraft, using airbags to lift it enough to manually lock the main gear and tow it into the hangar. Damage assessments and Non-Destructive Inspections followed, revealing damage primarily concentrated around the left main landing gear bay and lower wing area,” Shirley said.
The plane was flown to Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, California, facility for permanent structural repairs and a scheduled programmed depot maintenance cycle.
Before that flight, the plane underwent temporary repairs and laser dimensional inspections of areas such as flight control attachment fittings and landing gear bay fittings.
“Finite Element Method analysis was then used to evaluate potential ultimate load exceedance on the primary structure and to focus the Non-Destructive Inspection efforts on critical areas of the outboard wing spars,” the release said.
“These inspections showed no damage to the outboard wing spars.”
It is estimated that the temporary repairs saved the U.S. government $52 million and nine months off the original schedule, and allowed the ferry flight to proceed at the end of September 2022.
The repair process had four phases, including designing the repair, testing the repair concept, repairing the aircraft and developing airworthiness information to certify the repairs.
The permanent repairs were valued at $23.7 million.
All the structural repairs were completed by mid-May, ahead of the bomber’s Nov. 6 return to flight.
The repair team used unique and “innovative” solutions and new technologies to deal with such issues as contamination and heat distribution controls, the release said. The process included first-time use of a new composite resin from another platform, cutting months from the schedule and lowering risks associated with the repair.
“The new materials and equipment will significantly improve sustainment and modernization work for the fleet, allowing for faster and more cost-effective repairs of composite structures in the future, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of the fleet,” the Air Force said.
Cristina Stassis is an editorial fellow for Defense News and Military Times, where she covers stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She is currently studying journalism and mass communication and international affairs at the George Washington University.
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