Jack Northrop's flying wing was cancelled, bulldozed, and buried in 1949 - then vindicated 40 years later when the B-2 Spirit flew with an identical 172-foot wingspan.
TaildraggerThe Northrop YB-49 flying wing first flew October 21, 1947 - a revolutionary bomber canceled under disputed circumstances that became the direct ancestor of the B-2 Spirit.
TaildraggerThe sole surviving Northrop N-9MB flying wing, restored to flight at Planes of Fame in Chino, California, is the direct aerodynamic ancestor of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
TaildraggerThe Northrop YB-49 flying wing was canceled in 1949 amid political controversy, but its 172-foot wingspan and design principles survived forty years to become the B-2 Spirit.
TowerThe sole surviving Northrop N-9M flying wing still flies at Chino's Planes of Fame Museum, linking Jack Northrop's 1920s vision directly to the B-2 Spirit.
TaildraggerThe Northrop N-9M Flying Wing proved a radical concept in 1942 - and the one survivor at Chino still flies to prove it today.
TaildraggerA Chinese national got six months for photographing Whiteman AFB - here's the legal line between aviation photography and a federal crime.
TowerTest photos of the B-21 Raider reveal a speed brake design that appears decoupled from yaw control - a meaningful departure from the B-2 Spirit's approach.
TowerThe B-21 Raider fixes the B-2 Spirit's core vulnerabilities with real-time connectivity, drone integration, and a fleet size that changes America's strategic posture.
TowerThe B-21 Raider is built to fly cheaper than the B-2 Spirit thanks to durable stealth coatings, maintainability, and fleet scale.
Tower