Military aircraft do not often cross over into mainstream popular culture. Rare instances of transcendence usually result from film. The Top Gun series, which centers upon naval flyers in the F-14 and F/A-18, put the Navy’s jets at the forefront of the American conscious. Otherwise, military aircraft mostly reside in the periphery – something that people are aware of, yet rarely pay much mind to. 

Last weekend’s Rose Bowl offered a rare reprieve, however: a moment in which a military aircraft was organically inserted into a moment of cultural prominence. Football flyovers are hardly rare; they occur regularly enough. But the impact is typically muted. The recent Rose Bowl, however, played between Oregon and Ohio State, was different for two reasons: one, the magnitude of the game; and two, the presence of the mighty, and rare, B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.

A rare sighting

The B-2 stealth bomber is exceedingly rare. Only 21 were ever built. Only 19 are still in service (one was retired in 2022; another was destroyed in a crash on Guam in 2008). By comparison, over 4,600 F-16s have been built, meaning one is exponentially more likely to encounter an F-16, or some other fourth-generation fighter, than the B-2. And of course, encountering a B-2 defeats the purpose. The B-2 is a stealth bomber, after all, designed to move about undetected behind enemy lines, quietly and unseen either to radar or the naked eye. So the B-2 is a counterintuitive choice for a gaudy flyover. Yet the rarity of the airframe—and its distinctive silhouette—help to give the Air Force a transcendent cultural moment.

For most of the people in attendance at the Rose Bowl, the B-2 flyover marked the first and last time they will ever see the stealth bomber. I myself have never seen a B-2, and don’t expect to before the platform is phased out in favor of the upcoming B-21 Raider.

Already outdated

The B-2 Spirit was the world’s first (and still to this day only) operational stealth bomber. The platform was an immediate strategic game-changer, giving the United States the coveted ability to operate a nuclear-capable aircraft behind enemy lines. Immediately, the B-2 allowed the US to deploy a credible, robust nuclear triad, complete with stealth options in air and sea. Even today, a generation later, no nation boasts the ability to deploy nuclear weapons from a stealth bomber.

Yet, times have changed; air defense systems have grown more sophisticated and sensitive. Resultingly, the B-2 is not as stealthy as it once was. Enter the B-21 Raider, the Air Force’s next-generation stealth bomber. Outwardly, the B-21 appears quite similar to the B-2, each with their distinctive flying wing design and dark grey paint job. But the B-21 is expected to feature a lower radar cross section (RCS) than the B-2, and hence should be stealthier. In theory, the B-21 will restore the strategic advantage that the B-2 once enjoyed when she first debuted.

The new stealth bomber isn’t ready yet; she’s still undergoing initial flight testing, with the expectation that she will join the Air Force in the next few years—at which point you may expect to find the B-21 conducting the occasional football flyover instead.

Harrison Kass is a senior defense and national security writer with over 1,000 total pieces on issues involving global affairs. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.

Image: Mariusz Lopusiewicz / Shutterstock.