First Up: Stealth Bomber Crash
LLOYD: Ever been behind the wheel and dented your car, or even
your folks' car? Then you know how horrible an accident feels, and
how expensive it is, too. Now multiply that by a billion, and
that's how two U.S. Air Force pilots must be feeling today. Their
B-2 "stealth" bomber crashed Saturday. It's the most expensive
warplane the government owns. Ouch! Kate Bouldon tells us what the
bomber is designed to do, and what went wrong last weekend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN REPORTER: This wreckage caught on tape is all
that's left of an Air Force B-2 bomber. The Batwing Bomber is
known for its ability to travel long range, carry a heavy payload
and fly undetected. In recent years, it has played a key role
during operations in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.
MAJ. GEN. SHEPPERD, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The whole idea is it
goes in as 'kick down the door' force. In other words, it goes in
early it hits key targets, key defensive targets, key industrial
targets, key leadership targets.
BOLDUAN: The B-2 is also known for its price tag; over two billion
dollars each, the most expensive American warplane. And an
expensive loss after Saturday morning's crash at Anderson Air
Force Base in Guam. Fortunately the crew ejected and survived. The
Air Force says the plane was heading back to its home base in
Missouri when the mishap occurred. No bombs were onboard. The
plane had finished a temporary deployment in Guam as part of the
U.S.'s continuous bomber presence in the western Pacific. The Air
Force has another staging site in Diego Garcia.
SHEPPERD: Out of those bases with one refueling it can cover the
world and it can show up again announced unseen early in a war
that's the value of it.
BOLDUAN: The fleet was unveiled in 1988 and had never before
crashed. Military analysts say at 20 years old, age is not a
likely factor.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: We're flying planes twice
as old. The B-52, named for the year in which it was developed, is
still around and many of us fly commercially on planes built in
the 60's still. So the age of this plane should not have been a
problem.
BOLDUAN: While the B-2 can hit as many as 80 different targets in
a single run, its mission is increasingly going to a new
generation of fighter aircraft like unmanned planes, so Air Force
officials say the impact of the loss will be minimal. Kate
Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP
)
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 118.166.3.35
EpochTimes 近期熱門文章
PTT影音娛樂區 即時熱門文章
