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Orbital ATK to produce components for B-2 stealth bomber

By Stephen Carlson
The B-2 spirit is capable of deploying nuclear weapons and can carry a 40,0-pound payload of conventional bombs ranging from GPS-guided JDAMs to laser-guided bunker busters and cluster munitions. Photo credited courtesy of Northrop Grumman
The B-2 spirit is capable of deploying nuclear weapons and can carry a 40,0-pound payload of conventional bombs ranging from GPS-guided JDAMs to laser-guided bunker busters and cluster munitions. Photo credited courtesy of Northrop Grumman

May 30 (UPI) -- Orbital ATK has received a $90 million contract from Northrop Grumman for composite materials meant for maintenance of the B-2 Spirit heavy stealth bomber. The production will include 17 Hot Trailing Edge, or HTE, parts for the bomber.

Production will take place at Orbital ATK's Aerospace Structures Division facility in Dayton, Ohio, starting later this year.

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"We are honored to partner with Northrop Grumman to extend the service life of the B-2 bomber," Steve Earl, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK's Aerospace Structures Division, said in a press release.

"This program capitalizes on our core competency of providing advanced composite structures that use innovative Orbital ATK manufacturing processes to fit our customer's needs."

The B-2 Spirit is an intercontinental-range stealth bomber designed and built by Northrop Grumman. It is capable of deploying nuclear weapons and can carry a 40,0-pound payload of conventional bombs ranging from GPS-guided JDAMs to laser-guided bunker busters and cluster munitions.

The bomber primarily operates out of Whitman Air Force Base. It carries a crew of two and costs $1.6 billion dollars per plane. Its composite stealth structure requires extensive maintenance and special climate-controlled hangars. The B-2 has been in operation since 1988 and a total of 20 have been manufactured.

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