B-2 stealth bombers are back flying after the US Air Force grounded the fleet for 5 months in the wake of a fiery landing

• The B-2 Spirit fleet was grounded in December after one of the stealth bomber’s crashed during routine operations.
• But the aircraft was cleared to fly again on Monday after a lengthy pause over safety concerns.
• “Our readiness was never in doubt,” the Air Force said in a video.

More than five months after the US Air Force grounded its fleet of B-2 Spirit bombers over safety concerns, the stealth aircraft are now back and flying again. 

Air Force Global Strike Command said on Monday that the aircraft had resumed full flying operations after “a deliberate safety pause,” which began in mid-December 2022. An Air Force official told Insider that the pause was “precautionary,” and was lifted on May 18 by Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command.

During the pause, maintainers and aircrews who operate the bombers at Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base “kept full mission readiness, ready to launch if tasked,” the Air Force tweeted, and also published a video that included undated footage of a B-2 rolling out of a hanger and clips of the aircraft taking off from a runway.

“Our readiness was never in doubt. Our maintainers were sill enabling. Our long-range strike was always on call. Our aircrew was executing. Our ability to deliver nuclear deterrence…will not falter,” the video captions read, referencing the B-2’s role as a critical airborne element of America’s nuclear triad, which includes bombers, silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, and nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines.

The continuation of operations on Monday marked the end of the B-2’s five-month-long stand down, which the Air Force announced after one of the fleet’s stealth bombers was forced to make an emergency landing at Whiteman Air Force Base on December 10.

A 509th Bomb Wing spokesperson told Insider at the time that the B-2 “experienced an in-flight malfunction during routine operations” and was damaged on the runway after making an emergency landing. The official added that firefighters at the base had to extinguish a fire that was associated with the aircraft, but there were no injuries to the pilots. 

This incident marked the second time in 15 months that there was an emergency involving the B-2 at Whiteman Air Force Base. One aircraft’s left main landing gear collapsed as it was landing in September 2021, forcing it to skid off the runway. 

It was not immediately clear what caused the December 10 accident and how much damage the B-2 suffered. Air Force officials did not immediately respond to Insider’s questions regarding the investigation into the incident and what specific safety issues the service was looking for when it grounded the B-2s last year.

“During the safety pause, we erred on the side of prudence and caution to assess any possible safety of flight issues, deliberately and methodically, within the fleet,” the Air Force official told Insider. “We successfully accomplished all necessary actions to safely return to full flight operations with the B-2 fleet. While the B-2 fleet safety pause is officially over, our ability to deliver nuclear deterrence and provide long-range strike was never in doubt.”

“I wish that the safety pause was not necessary,” Maj. Gen. Andrew J. Gebara, commander of the 8th Air Force, told Air and Space Forces Magazine, which first reported on May 18 that the grounding was slated to be lifted. “But I think that it was really important that we find out what happened and make sure that was all mitigated before you start flying again, and that’s what we did.”

Whiteman Air Force Base is the country’s only operational base for the B-2, which was first unveiled in 1988. The sleek, 69-foot-long aircraft has a wingspan of over 172 feet and can fly at altitudes up to 50,000 feet. The bomber can be armed with conventional or nuclear weapons, and has a payload capacity of 40,000 pounds.

As a stealth bomber, the aircraft is designed to penetrate enemy air defenses to deliver a devastating strike. The new B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s newest bomber, shares certain design features with the Spirit.