The potentially game-changing achievement is a result of new processes and practices adopted by the AFLCMC’s Bombers Directorate to improve the efficiency of the B-2 PDM and ‘get the work done quickly’ so the bomber can return to operations earlier.
In a record achievement, a U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber completed its tedious PDM (Programmed Depot Maintenance) at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, in just a little over a year, three months shorter than the usual time. In fact, the Air Force Life-Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) announced that the bomber, identified as “Spirit of Nebraska” (89-0128), was ready to fly back to Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and return to operations on Oct. 15, 2024, just 379 days after the start of the PDM instead of the approximately 470 days it usually takes, for a total of 91 days ahead of schedule.
The potentially game-changing achievement is a result of new processes and practices adopted by the AFLCMC’s Bombers Directorate to improve the efficiency, according to the statement. This comes at a time when the U.S. Air Force is practicing the logistical and maintenance aspects of combat for quick, rapid, sudden force generation and deployment amid strategic confrontation with peer rivals.
The mainstay of the Air Force’s long-range conventional and non-conventional airborne strategic strike roles, the B-2 Spirit, will be upgraded to remain “competitive” at least until the early-2030s, when it is planned to be replaced by the new B-21 Raider. Northrop Grumman’s Plant 42 is the birthplace of all the Air Force’s 21 B-2 Spirits (of which 19 are still in service), where they undergo scheduled PDMs every nine years. PDMs involve the B-2s being put through an exhaustive inspection of all electrical and mechanical systems along with a complete removal and reapplication of their radar-evading materials to restore the LO (Low Observable) features.
The B-2 like you’ve never seen it before at Palmdale, CA. 👀 😎
Big thanks to 📷 Dylan Phelps for sharing! Check out his FB and IG pages: Centerline Images pic.twitter.com/2kTV0Mtw0h
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) March 27, 2024
New PDM process
“Bringing these jets into PDM, getting the work done quickly, and delivering them back to the warfighter early is a big deal,” said Col. Francis Marino, B-2 System Program Manager in the Bombers Directorate. He credited for this achievement the great partnership between the team of maintenance personnel at Plant 42, Bombers Directorate staff, the AFGSC (Air Force Global Strike Command) and Northrop Grumman.
PDM are generally focused on restoration of the bombers’ LO features, according to B-2 PDM Program Manager Staci Gravette. This work also allows to perform other maintenance work as well, since the entire aircraft is stripped, so the process can be expedited.
The press release then provided some insights in how it was possible to shave 91 days from the total duration of the PDM. One of the two new approaches was to conduct the fuel system inspection earlier in the PDM cycle. Previously, if an inspection identified a fuel leak, “the team would have to pull parts and materials back off the aircraft, repair the leak, and redo previous work, often causing a 45-day delay.” Conducting inspection and repair of the fuel system first in the PDM sequence eliminated the duplication and delay, said the Air Force.
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Moreover, the aircraft this time was “pre-inspected” before it arrived at the PDM, allowing to identify issues earlier and schedule the order of parts and specific repairs ahead of time, the release added. The “pre-inspection” is particularly useful as it “reduces the number of surprises at PDM” as airframes get older and need more repairs, Marino added.
“Maintaining the B-2s dominance is a priority for the Bombers Directorate. Improving the PDM process and other sustainment and modernization efforts the directorate is leading, ensures the aircraft continues to operate,” the statement further said.
‘Keeping B-2s ready is vital’
Shawn Clay, B-2 Product Support Manager, pointed to how the achievement was pivotal, since the stealth technology on the jet is from the 1980s but “is still leading the world.” He further stated this speaks volumes also on “the actual mission – holding our enemies at bay and giving them a moment of pause…like the thought of a B-2 coming in and before you even know it’s there, the fight’s all over.”
Clay referred to lower downtimes and greater availability of assets upsetting an adversary’s own calculus, who would take into account the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly mobilize and field a number of platforms on a short notice. In other words, faster turnaround and repair time also act as a deterrence to an enemy’s ambitious military plans, which are centered on sudden and surprising military maneuvers, while closely watching how many strategic weapons are in the hangar.
A spectacular view of Northrop Grumman B-2 “Spirit of Louisiana” (93-1088) stealth bomber over Glendale as it lines up for a low altitude flyover of the Rose Parade – pic.twitter.com/Z2tXsjFxQ1
— Scott Lowe (@tropicostation) January 1, 2022
Marino described the B-2 as the “world’s only long-range penetrable strike bomber,” until the B-21 is fielded. “As long as the aircraft is operational and our adversaries continue to come out with new and advanced weaponry across the electromagnetic spectrum, we’re going to have to continuously invest in the B-2s lethality, its survivability, and readiness. The work we’re doing on the PDM line will play a key role in all of this,” he added.
At Plant 42 there is currently another B-2, the “Spirit of Pennsylvania,” which is undergoing a new round of upgrades and testing called Spirit Realm 1. This program consists of the integration of an open mission systems architecture, new software, sensors and weapons to enhance the B-2’s survivability and combat capability. Interestingly, the Spirit of Pennsylvania returned to Plant 42 on Jul. 17, 2024, the same date when the first B-2 Spirit took off for the first time thirty-five years ago, in 1989, from the facility.
