Watch the secretive B-2 bomber in action: Northrop Grumman releases rare video of stealth craft after its replacement is revealed

Northrop Grumman has released rare aerial footage of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber in action.

The B-2 is the world’s only long range stealth bomber, and can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling.

This release comes in conjunction with a recent unveiling by the US Air Force, of the the first image of its next-generation bomber that will replace antique B-52s first developed during the Cold War.

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Northrop Grumman has released rare aerial footage of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber in action. The B-2 is the world’s only long range stealth bomber, and can fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling

The two-minute footage shows the B-2 soaring above mountaintops and up into the clouds.

The B-2 has a zig-zag shape and is the only US aircraft to combine long range, large payload, and stealth in one platform.

On December 17, 1993, the first operational aircraft dubbed the Spirit of Missouri was delivered to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.  

Twenty one aircraft were built in the original B-2 fleet. 

Now, the fleet is down to 20 after losing an aircraft called the Spirit of Kansas in February 2008. 

This craft crashed during takeoff from Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, in the only such incident of the B-2s' more than 20 year career. 

Nineteen of these craft are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and one is being tested at Edwards AFB, California, to confirm software and weapon system upgrades. 

The US Air Force recently unveiled the first image of its next-generation bomber that will replace antique B-52s, and the rendering bears more than a passing resemblance to the B-2 bomber, which is also made by Northrop Grumman.

The all-black plane has a distinctive, zigzagging shape and a low profile designed to make it hard to spot on radar.

The new stealth bomber has yet to be built, but Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James provided the world with the first glimpse of the project using an artist's rendering.

The stunning two-minute footage shows the B-2 soaring above mountaintops and up into the clouds. The B-2 has a zig-zag shape and is the only US aircraft to combine long range, large payload, and stealth in one platform

Twenty one aircraft were built in the original B-2 fleet. Now, the fleet is down to 20 after losing an aircraft called the Spirit of Kansas in February 2008. Nineteen of these craft are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and one is being tested at Edwards AFB, California, to confirm software and weapon system upgrades

It is designed to be launch from the continental US and deliver airstrikes on any location in the world.

The Air Force said it plans to introduce the aircraft in mid-2020s.

At today's event in Orlando, James revealed the plane - previously known as the Long Range Strike Bomber - would be called the B-21 until a new name has been agreed on, and she invited air crews to help.

The designation B-21 recognises the aircraft as the military’s first bomber of the 21st century.

THE HISTORY OF THE B-2 BOMBER 

The first operational aircraft, christened Spirit of Missouri, was delivered to Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, where the fleet is based, on 17 December 1993.

Twenty one aircraft were built in the original B-2 fleet. 

The B-2 has demonstrated its capabilities in several combat scenarios, including Operation Allied Force in Kosovo; Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and most recently, in Libya, during Operation Odyssey Dawn.

The B-2 is the only U.S. aircraft that combines long range, large payload and stealth in a single platform, giving it the ability to project air power anywhere in the world. 

It can fly 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and 10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling.

The Air Force said it will buy 100 of the new bombers at a newly calculated average cost of $511 million each. Pictured is the a B-2A bomber from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri

With its ability to carry more than 20 tons of conventional and nuclear ordnance and deliver it precisely under any weather conditions, the B-2 also has the ability to change the outcome of a conflict with a single mission. 

Today, the fleet consists of 20 aircraft, following the loss, in February 2008, of the Spirit of Kansas, which crashed while taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the only such incident in the B-2's more than 20 years of operation. 

Nineteen B-2s are currently based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., home of the 509th Bomb Wing, while one aircraft is assigned to flight testing at Edwards AFB, California to validate software and weapon systems upgrades.

The idea is that the latest B-21 bomber, which is still on the drawing board will replace Air Force B-52 bombers, which have been flying for more than half a century.

It will also eventually the B-1 bombers, when they retire sometime in the 2040s.

'This aircraft represents the future for our Airmen, and (their) voice is important to this process,' James told the Air Force Association's Air Warfare Symposium.

The program has been shrouded in secrecy since its inception for fear of revealing military secrets to potential enemies.

The military also wanted to avoid giving the losing bidders any details before their formal protest was rejected last week.

The Air Force wants 100 of the warplanes, which will replace the ageing B-52s and the B-1 bombers that first saw action in the 1980s.

Industry news reports say that while the new plane's specific capabilities are highly secret, it likely will be equipped with high-tech communications gear and other electronics that would allow it to perform a variety of missions, not just dropping bombs. 

The US Air Force on Friday unveiled the first image, pictured above, of its next-generation bomber that will replace antique B-52s first developed during the Cold War. The all-black plane has a distinctive, zigzagging shape and a low profile designed to make it hard to spot on radar 

The new bomber is a high Air Force priority because the oldest ones in its fleet — the venerable B-52s — have far outlived their expected service life. The rendering bears more than a passing resemblance to the B-2 bomber, pictured above, which is also made by Northrop Grumman

The new bomber is a high Air Force priority because the oldest ones in its fleet — the venerable B-52s — have far outlived their expected service life.

Even the newest — the B-2 stealth bombers — having been flying for more than two decades. 

A third bomber, the B-1, is used heavily for conventional strikes, but no longer is certified for nuclear missions.

The Pentagon in October announced Northrop as the winner of the contract to build the bomber in a decades-long program that will likely end up costing in excess of $100 billion. 

But work on the new plane was delayed for months while federal auditors reviewed a protest by Boeing and its key supplier, Lockheed Martin.

Boeing has now told senior U.S. Air Force leaders that it will not take further legal action challenging the contract, Reuters said, citing two sources familiar with the decision.

The Air Force, under pressure from lawmakers and retired Air Force officers, has promised to release more information about the new plane in March.

And the program has now survived the legal protest process, it still faces hurdles in Congress.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain on Thursday said he would block the Air Force's use of a cost-plus type of contract for the long-range bomber since it holds the government responsible for cost overruns.

The B-21 bomber will replace Air Force B-52 bombers, which have been flying for more than half a century. Pictured is the B-52 Stratofortress entered service in the 1950s

A pilot and co-pilot of a B-52 bomber in an image taken in 1972. These bombers are out of date and the Air Force is looking to replace them with 100 B-21 bombers

The Air Force says that only the engineering and development phase of the program, valued at $21.4 billion, is structured as a cost-plus contract with incentive fees.

Analysts say the program will be worth around $80 billion in total, providing a boon to Northrop and its key suppliers, but the Air Force has said only that it expects to pay $511 million per plane.

John Michael Loh, a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general, has urged the Air Force to name Northrop's suppliers to shore up support in Congress, and avoid a re-run of the B-2 bomber program, which was scaled back from 132 planes to just 21, which drove the price of each plane sharply higher.