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Re:

How Much Does It Cost to Fly a B-2 Spirit Per Hour?

GAO’s FY2020 benchmark puts B-2 Spirit operating and support costs at $150,741 per flying hour in constant FY2020 dollars. It is a fleet average, not the cost of a specific mission.
From TheFinanceBase Team2 min to read

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The strongest B-2-specific public benchmark is $150,741 per flying hour, reported by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) for fiscal year 2020 in constant FY2020 dollars. That is a fleet operating-and-support measure—not a current price quote or the full bill for a particular combat mission.

What the $150,741 figure measures

GAO’s 2022 aircraft sustainment report gives the B-2 fleet’s FY2020 operating and support (O&S) cost as $820.24 million, alongside 5,441 fleet flying hours. Dividing the reported costs by flying hours produces the benchmark of $150,741 per hour. GAO says the B-2’s O&S cost per flying hour was 10% higher than in 2019. These figures are expressed in constant FY2020 dollars, not current dollars. GAO report.

The same report lists $403.14 million in B-2 maintenance costs for FY2020. Maintenance is a substantial part of the reported total, but the hourly benchmark covers the broader O&S measure rather than maintenance alone. GAO report PDF.

Why an hourly rate is not a mission price

A cost per flying hour is a ratio across a period: costs are divided by hours flown. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) describes the general calculation this way: “In general, the flight hour cost is computed by dividing the costs for a period by the projected hours flown during the period.” OMB Circular A-126, Attachment B.

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That fleet-level average cannot by itself establish the total cost of one sortie. A mission estimate would need its duration and a defined list of included costs. Fuel and maintenance tied to flying time vary with use; salaries, calendar-based maintenance and operating overhead may be fixed or allocated differently. The accounting boundary therefore matters as much as the number of hours.

Is there a newer B-2 hourly rate?

The public materials available for this article do not establish a newer B-2-specific hourly dollar rate. The Air Force’s FY2025 budget justification discusses flying-hour program changes, but the material cited here does not provide a B-2-specific rate. Air Force FY2025 Operations and Maintenance budget justification.

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The FAA’s FY2023 military operating-cost estimates are also not a substitute: they use broad aircraft categories rather than a B-2-specific rate. The FAA says its estimates use DoD reimbursement rates and aircraft utilization, include crew, operations and maintenance, and an asset-utilization factor, and exclude ownership costs. FAA military operating-cost estimates.

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How to use the figure responsibly

  • For a historical benchmark, describe it as about $151,000 per B-2 flying hour in FY2020 dollars.
  • Do not present it as today’s exact operating rate or as an invoice for a particular mission.
  • Do not multiply it by a sortie’s duration and call the result the mission’s total cost unless you clearly label the calculation as a rough illustration based on the historical fleet average and identify costs it excludes.

The B-2 is a two-pilot, four-engine heavy bomber, according to the Air Force. Its fact sheet gives an approximate unit cost of $1.157 billion in FY1998 constant dollars. That acquisition figure describes the aircraft’s unit cost, not its hourly operating expense, so it should not be conflated with GAO’s sustainment measure. U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit fact sheet.

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