re: #196 albusteve

B2 works…expensive but we dont that many of them…go for it

See, I don’t know that the B-2 is a suitable replacement. Not that I’m an expert by any means, but for pete’s sake, there are some targets, and some missions, where you need something that can haul a massive load of ordnance and drop it within a specified (but not necessarily precise) area. If it should be cheaper than the super-stealthy plane with the limited payload, so much the better.

I just hate that bombing runs in Iraq made by B-2’s required these freakin’ non-stop roundtrips from US bases to targets in theatre and back again, since local facilities for maintenance and storage weren’t available.

To me, the B-2 is a highly specialized system, whereas the B-52 is sort of a do-all ground-shaker. you need both, seems to me. It’s why we have rifles, and why we have shotguns; different targets, different weapons.