The stealth bomber's long-standing tradition of participating in the festivities in Pasadena, California resumes New Year's Day. The post B-2 Flyover Set To Return to Rose Bowl appeared first on FLYING Magazine.
The Air Force will be resuming the tradition of a Northrop Grumman [NYSE: NOC] B-2 Spirit stealth bomber flyover during the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, California, on January 1, 2024, it said.
�Continuing a lasting relationship with the Tournament of Roses Foundation, the B-2 will kick off the Rose Bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan Wolverines with a flyover,� the Air Force�s 509th Bomb Wing said.
A B-2 Spirit from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, opens the 133rd Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, January 1, 2022. [Courtesy: U.S. Air Force]
The B-2 has flown over the Rose Parade and Bowl every year since 2005�until last year when the Air Force grounded its fleet for inspection after a bomber made a hard landing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The stealth bomber is operated by the 509th and 131st Bomb Wings at Whiteman AFB.�
During the December 2022 incident, a B-2 flying a routing operation had an inflight malfunction and was forced to make an emergency landing, catching fire in the process. The mishap prompted Whiteman AFB to institute a safety pause for a B-2 fleet inspection. A pair of B-1B Lancer bombers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, were then tasked with carrying over the flyover tradition for the 2023 Rose Parade or Rose Bowl Game.
�We are excited to return to the 2024 Rose Bowl,� said Colonel Keith Butler, 509th Bomb Wing commander at Whiteman AFB. �We have enjoyed a long relationship with the city of Pasadena and are honored to bring the B-2 back to demonstrate Team Whiteman�s commitment to the American people. Our mission is to execute nuclear operations and global strike�anytime, anywhere, and it would not be possible without the support of the people we serve. This is our way of saying, thank you.�
Earlier this month, Whiteman AFB marked its three decades as home to the B-2 Spirit by holding a ceremony that reenacted the bomber�s first arrival to the base.
Retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Keith Meadows marshals the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber at Whiteman AFB December 15, 2023. As a staff sergeant at the time, Meadows was the first crew chief to marshal in the B-2 30 years ago when it first arrived at Whiteman AFB. [Courtesy: U.S. Air Force]
The post B-2 Flyover Set To Return to Rose Bowl appeared first on FLYING Magazine.
