'Photo Bomber': US B-2 Spirit Stealth Aircraft 'Unmasked' on Google Maps
© AP Photo / Jeff Roberson
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Social media users who commented on this discovery brought up both the plane’s stealth capabilities and the costs of maintaining such aircraft.
A Google Maps image that appears to show a US B-2 Spirit stealth bomber in flight emerged on Reddit this week.
The image has since been upvoted around 111 thousand times, with Reddit users commenting on it musing about the aircraft’s capabilities.
“These things are eerie in the air. If you ever get a chance to see one at an air show, it is practically silent while it circles overhead,” one of them remarked, adding that the plane has to undergo a “rigorous and costly post-flight inspection.”
Someone on Reddit found a stealth bomber in Google Maps. I love how the R/G/B bands smear for fast-moving objects in satellite imagery. Supposedly you can use that quirk to estimate speed of objects if you know a bit about the satellite. pic.twitter.com/B1TKD9t5bj
— Joe Morrison (@mouthofmorrison) December 20, 2021
Another suggested that the B-2 bomber “costs about $125,000 per flight hour.” apparently due because of an extensive “review” such aircraft requires upon landing.
Taking note of the coordinates provided in the post, some social media users quickly deduced that the bomber was caught on satellite camera in the vicinity of Whiteman Air Force Base where these craft are stationed, and one person even managed to determine that the image was apparently taken in 2016.
Yessir! https://t.co/UrsOOCVZZy pic.twitter.com/ZRDkrus9Hc
— Joe Morrison (@mouthofmorrison) December 20, 2021
Some netizens also joked on Twitter about the aircraft’s stealth capabilities in light of this discovery, and one Reddit user jokingly described the plane as a “photo bomber".
I was just wondering if stealth bombers were still around. You hardly ever see them...
— Joe Andre (@urblg) December 20, 2021
Not so stealth ey?!?
— Alper Çuğun-Gscheidel 🏴🌻🔰💉💉💉 (@alper) December 20, 2021
