A B-2 bomber deployed to Andersen AFB, Guam from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo., crashed Saturday morning just after taking off, according to various news reports. An Air Force statement said the two pilots on board ejected safely. The Whiteman bombers have been deployed to Guam since last fall as part of a now-standard rotation to the Pacific region. It is the first crash of a B-2 bomber, which have been in operational use since 1993.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach told lawmakers Apr. 30 that the service’s biggest airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, has a 37 percent mission capable rate—one of several challenges facing the mobility fleet.