A B-2 Spirit from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., opens the 108th Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1, 2022. (Dylan Nuckolls/U.S. Air Force)
WASHINGTON — The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber will return to the skies over Southern California next week to perform a flyover at the 2024 Rose Bowl game after missing the tradition a year ago, the Air Force said.
The unique wedge-shaped aircraft has been performing the pregame flyover at the prestigious college football bowl game for years but had to stand down last year because of a temporary grounding.
The Air Force barred its fleet of B-2s from flying after one was damaged during an emergency landing at its base in Missouri in December 2022. The stealth bomber also had to sit out the last Tournament of Roses Parade, which has been a New Year’s Day staple in Pasadena, Calif., for decades.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Sarah Brandt uses a land mobile radio to communicate with the crew of two B-1B Lancers from the 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess AFB, Texas, Jan. 2, 2023. The B-1s conducted a flyover for the 109th Rose Bowl Game. (Hannah Malone/U.S. Air Force)
The grounding lasted for five months, so a pair of B-1 Lancers subbed in and performed the flyover at the 2023 game between Penn State and Utah on Jan. 2. When Michigan and Alabama meet on Monday, the B-2 will be back — thundering across the sky to help kick off the game.
“We are excited to return,” said Col. Keith Butler, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing at Missouri’s Whiteman Air Force Base, where the B-2 fleet is based. “[We] are honored to bring the B-2 back to demonstrate Team Whiteman’s commitment to the American people.”
After the emergency landing, the Air Force spent several weeks inspecting the B-2 fleet for potential safety issues before allowing the planes to return to flight in May. Officials said an in-flight malfunction during a training flight prompted the emergency landing, which caused structural damage to the aircraft. However, no one aboard the plane was hurt.
In service since the mid-1990s, the B-2 Spirit is specially designed to evade advanced air defenses and can fly about 6,000 miles without being refueled. Only one of the planes has been lost — the Spirit of Kansas, which crashed in bad weather just after taking off from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam in 2008. Both pilots were injured but survived. The Air Force expects to fly the B-2s until sometime in the 2030s, at which point they will be replaced by a fleet of B-21 Raiders. The B-21 made its first flight last month.
Although it typically features a showdown between teams from the Big Ten and Pac-12 conferences, the 2024 Rose Bowl is hosting a College Football Playoff semifinal between the Big Ten’s Wolverines and the Southeastern Conference’s Crimson Tide. The winner will advance to the national championship game on Jan. 8.
A B-2 Spirit from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., opens the 104th Rose Bowl with a flyover in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1, 2018. T (Danielle Quilla/U.S. Air Force)
