The Northrop B-2 Spirit, better known as the Stealth Bomber, is the most advanced strategic bomber in the world and with a price tag of about $2 billion also the first aircraft to cost more than most ships. It is a direct descendant of the post-war Northrop "Flying Wing" design (which flew in prototype form as the XB-49) with w-shaped trailing edges features smooth flight-control surfaces which are controlled by a digital fly-by-wire system to compensate for the inherently unstable aerodynamic design. Unlike the F-117 whose stealth features are due to its angular design, the B-2 relies on an airframe constructued of graphite/epoxy in a radar-absorbing honeycomb structure as well as a mix of hot exhaust gases with cold free-stream air to reduce its thermal signature. The aircraft also features a high degree of automation, requiring just two crew members in a fighter-style glass cockpit. Avionics include a multi-mode AN/APQ-181 that is based on the radar of the F-15E, as well as GPS targeting systems that allow the use of JDAM precision bombs. Initial plans called for over 130 B-2s to be built, however this number was eventually scaled down to just 21 due to its enormous unit cost as well as the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the USSR. In combat the B-2 has proved extremely effective, seeing action for the first time in the 1999 Kosovo strikes (although with some notoriety following the accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy), and subsequently against Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Syria. It is likely to remain in service well into the twenty-first century.

First flight of the B-2 was on 17 July 1989 and entered operational service in early 1997 as the B-2A. Although no other variants have been built or are planned to be built, the latest Block 30 upgrade has given the B-2 improved avionics and weapons capabilities allowing it to be equipped with the latest range of GPS-guided US smart weapons.