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Development of the B-2 Bomber
The United States started developing the B-2 stealth bomber in 1981 at the height of the Cold War. The original purpose of the bomber was to be able to evade radar detection and attack the Soviet Union's command-and-control centres without warning. The United States has 13 B-2s and is committed to buying 8 more, for a total of 21, by the end of 1999 at a cost of $45 billion.(f.1)
The House of Representatives approved $331 million in the 1998 defence appropriation bill for B-2 bombers. The bill allows President Clinton to spend the money either as a down payment on nine more B-2 bombers, making a total of 30, or for repairing and modernizing the existing fleet. No more B-2s will be built, however, since the president and the defence secretary, William Cohen, both strongly oppose buying more. Most senators agree with the president and don't want any more.(f.2)
Among the nuclear weapons planned for the B-2s to carry is the new B61-11 ("bunker buster") with needle-shaped warheads designed to penetrate 50 feet into the ground to destroy military command posts as well as facilities for the manufacture and storage of weapons of mass destruction.(f.3)
B-2 Bombers should not be deployed
If B-2 bombers are deployed to bases and start flying missions with nuclear weapons, they might trigger an accidental nuclear war. If Russia and other countries are not allowed time to evaluate whether a threat is real or not, it could increase the danger of nuclear missiles being launched in error. All warning systems can sooner or later give false warnings, and if a country has insufficient time to assess their accuracy it is more likely to launch to a false alarm.
The United States and Russia through negotiations have reduced their nuclear forces (including bombers) out of a primary concern for stability and safety.(f.4) While it is good that the danger has been reduced, the danger still exists because the B-2 bombers will still be able to fly long distances carrying nuclear weapons. The U.S. Air Force deployed B-2 bombers to Guam last year to demonstrate that the plane can be deployed overseas without maintenance problems.(f.5)
Deployment of the B-2 bombers can increase the danger of...