The Magic Behind B-2’s Radar Signature Being That Of A Bird

Aliens.

Well, not exactly. Although people back in the 90s did make a lot of phone calls to local police about seeing an alien spaceship, it was actually the B-2 Spirit and/or another hi-tech gadget the USAF and NASA were testing.

Some of you might know how stealth technology works. At least what we’re allowed to know. When it comes to radars, short pulses of radio waves are emitted skyward and bounce back. When the receiver gets the wave back, that’s how you know something is there.

The B-2 Spirit first flew in 1989 but was not introduced to the Air Force until 1997.

B-2’s shape avoids that bounce back as much as it can. It reflects the radio waves because of its curvature but also because of the composition of its skin as well as the paint on the outside. There are many more factors that make this plane invisible to modern technology of course.

Just watch the video though. We just gave you the major bits and pieces here but this YouTube channel is great at explaining technical topics. It’s only 3 or so minutes long and will clearly show you what’s what.

Enjoy the learning.