Lt. Col. (Ret) Igor Suhr flew operationally the F-15, MQ-1, MQ-9 and B-2, and after retiring he became the lead B-2 Operational Test Pilot with the 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron.
Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Igor Suhr has become the first and only civilian authorized by the Department of War (as the Department of Defense has been recently renamed) to fly the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber as a test pilot, according to a press release by Whiteman AFB, Missouri, on Sep. 8, 2025. Suhr, who previously flew the F-15 Eagle, MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper, concluded his career flying B-2 Spirit with the 110th Bomb Squadron at Whiteman AFB for 11 years, and is now the DoW’s lead B-2 Operational Test Pilot with the 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, part of the 53rd Wing, under Air Combat Command.
A local Missouri resident, Suhr’s journey in aviation is rich, with over 6,000 flight hours both on military and civilian aircraft. The B-2 Spirit is the mainstay of the service’s long-range conventional and non-conventional strategic strike platforms, at least until the 2030s, when it is planned to be replaced by the B-21 Raider.
The strike by USAF B-2s on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Jun. 21, 2025, in the carefully orchestrated ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’ that was 15 years in the making, upheld its importance as the primary long-range stealth bomber. The U.S. operates 19 B-2s, assigned to Whiteman AFB.
Journey
The press release traced Suhr’s childhood fascination with aviation, being born in Clinton and raised in Windsor, growing up surrounded by the military community from Whiteman AFB. He was “immersed in service and aviation,” and the “hometown kid” today has become “the first and only Department of Defense civilian authorized to fly the B-2 Spirit,” the press release recounted. Therefore, unlike the company or contractor test pilots who have flown the B-2, Suhr is in fact the first DoD civilian embedded in a Test & Evaluation Squadron.
Lt. Col. Igor Suhr’s earliest influences came from a friend’s grandfather, a World War II bomber gunner, who had been shot down and taken prisoner of war. “The story he told left a powerful impression. I never really decided to be a pilot. It just felt like something I had to do,” Suhr said.
After turning 18, Suhr lost his mother, and followed his family’s encouragement to pursue aviation at the University of Central Missouri. He progressed quickly from a private pilot to certified flight instructor in just 13 months, “while flying skydivers, instructing, and teaching as a graduate assistant.”
After being commissioned in the Air Force in 2003 through the Officer Training School, he was convinced by his commander Col. Cherry Pitts, a decorated F-15 Eagle veteran from Operation Desert Storm, to join the fighter stream. He graduated top of his class at Vance AFB and became an Eagle pilot with the 60th Fighter Squadron (FS) at Eglin AFB, Florida. He also had brief stops at Moody and Tyndall AFBs in Georgia and Florida, respectively.
However, a few years later, he was one of 200 fighter and bomber pilots chosen to operate RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircraft), and Suhr subsequently transitioned to the MQ-1 Predator at Creech AFB, Nevada. “It wasn’t a move I chose, but I had to embrace it,” he said. He worked through the demanding seven-days-on, two-days-off, 12-hour shifts, becoming a dual qualified instructor and evaluator. He also became the first pilot to surpass 1,000 hours on both the MQ-1 and MQ-9 Reaper.
🇺🇸 Video showing U.S. Air Force B-2A Spirit stealth bombers being readied and departing Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, for Operation Midnight Hammer, June 2025. pic.twitter.com/lpzYblXRSY
— Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) June 23, 2025
“He graduated from the US Air Force Weapons School and later helped stand up three new RPA squadrons and shape the foundation of modern RPA operations. Then he got a rare opportunity: to return home and fly the B-2 Spirit with the Missouri Air National Guard,” the press release said.
Suhr said he “jumped at the chance,” summing up how the B-2 would complete his flying experience. “The F-15s are a pure flying joy,” he said. “RPAs were impactful and mission driven; and the B-2 brings unmatched strategic value.”
The switch to the B-2 coincided with the Global War on Terror from 2002 to 2021. In the last years of that war, Washington had begun reorienting itself towards a conventional war with peer rivals, which would see a more prominent role of the B-2.
Return to Missouri to fly B-2s
The assignment to fly B-2 Spirits resonated personally at multiple levels, not only because he was a local boy. As a teenager, he stood on Whiteman’s flight line to witness the arrival of the first B-2 Spirit, the Spirit of Missouri (serial 88-0329), that touched down at the base on Dec. 17, 1993. It was only fortunate that 20 years to that date, on Dec. 17, 2013, and the 110th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight with the Flyer 1, Suhr joined the 110th Bomb Squadron.
He spent the next 11 years with the 110th BS flying the B-2, while also contributing to local aviation through a flying club, air racing, performing in airshows, and mentoring young aviators as an FAA designated pilot examiner. Even more, Suhr’s family too is in the aviation business, with stepson and daughter-in-law both working at Whiteman as B-2 low observable technicians.
New role in B-2 testing and upgrades
At the 72nd Test and Evaluation Squadron (TES), part of the 53rd Wing, Suhr is responsible for “testing and evaluating mission upgrades that will shape the bomber’s future.” Under the civilian pilot program, which he hopes would grow, Suhr still wears a flight suit, black or bright orange, without rank, and believes his mission is still unchanged.
The U.S. Air Force Life-Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) recently revealed a series of continuing software upgrades to the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, particularly pertaining to its communications and survivability. These are planned to “happen continuously to ensure the B-2 fleet remains operational until the B-21 is fielded.”
The “Spirit of Missouri” is the name of the first B-2 Spirit aircraft, delivered in 1993, based at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. In Operation Allied Force it destroyed 33% of Serbian targets in the first eight weeks. 01-01-25 pic.twitter.com/5vIQhWo0uy
— Matt Hartman (@ShorealoneFilms) January 1, 2025
The service’s 19 B-2s go through a rigorous and exhaustive Programmed Depot Maintenance (PDM) every nine years at Northrop Grumman’s Plant 42 in Palmdale, California. Suhr’s new role meanwhile allows him to “keep serving while still flying,” even as a civilian. “Being part of the B-2 community and impacting warfighters ability to succeed keeps me connected,” he said.
