WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has returned one of its most valuable stealth bombers, the B-2 “Spirit of Georgia,” to operational service after a $23.7 million repair effort that spanned just under four years. The restoration, completed on November 6, 2025, brings the nation’s airworthy B-2 fleet back to 19 aircraft—critical capacity for what remains the world’s smallest but most strategically important bomber inventory.
The Spirit of Georgia suffered major structural damage on September 14, 2021, when its left main landing gear collapsed during a runway incident at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. The collapse caused the aircraft to scrape the runway and surrounding grass, tearing into the bomber’s delicate low-observable coatings and composite structures. The accident grounded the entire B-2 fleet for 18 months while engineers assessed whether the aircraft could be saved.
Col. Jason Shirley, senior materiel leader at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s B-2 System Program Office, said the swift actions of on-site specialists were decisive. “The immediate response by the 509th Maintenance and B-2 engineering team proves critical,” he stated, noting that damage was concentrated in the left main landing gear bay and lower wing area.
The mishap prompted early concerns that the airframe might be a total loss—a fate that befell the Spirit of Hawaii after a severe 2022 mishap at Whiteman. With only 20 B-2s ever produced and two previously destroyed beyond repair, the recovery of the Spirit of Georgia carried significant cost, readiness, and deterrence implications for the world’s most advanced stealth bomber fleet.
From Emergency Recovery to Depot-Level Repair
Following the incident, recovery teams used inflatable airbags to stabilize the B-2, secure the landing gear, and tow it for evaluation. Detailed structural assessments—including laser dimensional inspections and non-destructive testing—confirmed that primary wing spars, flight-control fittings, and landing-gear bay components remained within acceptable tolerances.
One year later, the bomber was temporarily restored to airworthiness using speed tape and without low-observable treatments. On September 22, 2022, the aircraft ferried to Northrop Grumman’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, where it entered Programmed Depot Maintenance with additional crash-specific work. The Air Force estimates the ferry approach saved approximately $52 million and accelerated the project timeline by nine months.
The Life Cycle Management Center executed the restoration in four phases, beginning with repair design and long-lead material procurement, followed by the development of test panels to validate repair concepts. Advanced repairs unfolded in Phase 3, where engineers relied on an 8-by-4-foot composite skin section sourced from Test Article 0998 to replace damaged structures more economically than fabricating new components.
Technicians replaced the left wingtip, major mate skin panel, and landing-gear door hinges, while resolving composite skin disbonds and restoring the lower wing’s ability “to carry wing loads, airstream, and internal fuel tank pressures.” The work culminated in Phase 4, during which airworthiness tests certified the airframe for return to service. Repairs were completed on May 12, 2025.
New Materials and Methods Set a Benchmark
Structure engineer Matt Powers highlighted the complexity of working with high-temperature composite cures in tight spaces. He explained that heat had to be applied “immediately adjacent to critical joints that must not overheat,” requiring custom equipment, thermal surveys, insulation, and cooling strategies.
Crews also confronted the risk of fuel-tank contamination. “Hard knocks on composite fuel tanks risk contamination,” Powers noted, adding that technicians had to return bonding surfaces “to near lab-grade cleanliness” before composite layers were applied.
The project marks the first time the Air Force has used a composite resin from another platform—likely tied to Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider program—for a major B-2 repair. The out-of-autoclave material proved durable and efficient, cutting months from the overhaul timeline. The team also used scarf-repair techniques to create tapered, grain-aligned patches that enhance structural integrity and preserve stealth performance.
Cindy Connor, deputy branch chief for the B-2 office’s Air Vehicle and Systems Management Branch, credited the broader enterprise for rapid decision-making. She said Air Force Global Strike Command “provides critical response, concurrence on temporary repairs, and approval of an unfunded request for in-depth scarf repairs during depot maintenance.”
Compared with the $105 million cost of a 2010 B-2 crash repair in Guam—and the $1.4 billion valuation of a 2008 total-loss airframe—the $23.7 million restoration sets what Air & Space Magazine called a new benchmark in economical recovery. With the Spirit of Georgia now back in service, the Air Force says the innovations proven through the repair will strengthen future sustainment efforts, reduce downtime, and extend the operational life of the nation’s stealth bomber fleet.
