The American company Northrop Grumman, commissioned by the US Air Force, has completed the restoration of the B-2 Spirit of Washington bomber, damaged by a fire in the engine compartment in February 2010. According to Flightglobal, the American company took almost four years to carry out repair work due to the absence of a production line of B-2 aircraft, which was closed in 2000.

The cost of restoring the aircraft has not been disclosed. In 1997, the cost of one B-2, including development, testing and production, was $2.1 billion (about three billion dollars in 2013 prices). During the Spirit of Washington restoration program, specialists assessed the damage and determined the cause of the fire, and then repaired the bomber's composite structures.

In addition to the above work, Northrop Grumman specialists also carefully treated the bomber’s fuselage with “dry ice” to remove soot from it. According to the US Air Force, the restored aircraft is fully airworthy and can fly combat missions without any restrictions. The refurbished B-2 was tested at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

A fire on board a B-2 occurred in 2010 during an engine startup at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. During launch, one of the bomber's four engines caught fire, causing significant damage to the Spirit of Washington's engine bay and tail section. Initially, the US Air Force described the fire as “minor,” but a year later military reports included the description “terrible.”

Including the restored bomber, the U.S. Air Force currently has 20 B-2 aircraft in service, developed using stealth technology in the 1980s.

US repairs B-2 bomber damaged by fire