With its alien-like "flying wing" silhouette, the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is perhaps the most recognizable, yet hardest to detect, aircraft in history. Entering service in 1997, this stealth bomber was designed to penetrate the world's densest air defenses to deliver both nuclear and conventional payloads. It remains the only aircraft in the US inventory capable of carrying the massive 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP), a "bunker buster" designed to destroy deeply buried targets. The Spirit is far from a museum piece; in October 2024, B-2s executed high-profile precision strikes against hardened underground Houthi weapons storage facilities in Yemen, reminding the world of its unique reach. Furthermore, in mid-2025, the fleet conducted its largest-ever forward deployment to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, proving that even as the Air Force prepares for the future B-21 Raider, the Spirit remains the undisputed heavyweight champion of global strike.

Learn more about the B-2 and 54 other aircraft in service with the U.S. Armed Forces in our Aircraft Recognition Playing Cards deck!