During recent military exercises near the Philippines, a B-2 Spirit bomber sank a decommissioned US Navy ship using an LRASM missile—suggesting it could do the same in a hot war.

Less than a decade after the first manned flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, an early airplane was employed to strike an adversary’s warship. The incident occurred on May 10, 1913, when Mexican revolutionary Venustiano Carranza’s forces’ aircraft dropped dynamite bombs on Federalist gunboats in Guaymas during the Mexican Revolution. Just two years later, during World War I, a Royal Naval Air Service Short Type 184 Seaplane conducted the first-ever air-launched torpedo attack against a Turkish merchant ship in the Sea of Marmara.

These were among the dozens of early demonstrations of the capabilities of aircraft against warships, serving as proof of concept and laying the groundwork for the development of the dive bomber during World War II. During that conflict, specialized “dive bombers”—most notoriously Nazi Germany’s Ju 87 Stuka, renowned for its ear-piercing shriek during bombing runs—destroyed countless targets and struck fear into the hearts of ground forces on all sides of the war.

By the early Cold War, aircraft had become more vulnerable to ground fire, and air forces shifted to using advanced guided anti-ship missiles. During the Falklands War in 1982, the Royal Navy lost two destroyers and two frigates to bombs and Exocet anti-ship missiles fired by Argentine fighter-bombers. Modern naval warfare continues to shift away from the traditional, low-altitude “gravity” bombs in favor of standoff munitions.

Still, nearly two years ago, the United States conducted a demonstration of how its long-range strategic bombers could be further employed in anti-surface warfare (ASuW). During the 2024 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, a US Air Force Northrop B-2 Spirit bomber successfully sank the decommissioned Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Dubuque (LPD-8) with a 2,000-pound low-cost, GPS-guided Quicksink bomb. The ordnance is a variant of the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) modified for use in maritime strikes.

The B-2’s Low-Level LRASM Strike

During the ongoing Exercise Valiant Shield 2026 in the Philippine Sea, the Pacific Air Forces conducted another live-fire Sinking Exercise (SINKEX), where a B-2 Spirit deployed an AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) against an unidentified maritime vessel.

Though the Navy has not revealed the identity of the target ship, The Aviationist speculated that the vessel sunk in the exercise might have been another Austin-class LPD—in this case the former USS Juneau (LPD-10). The Austin-class LPDs were first built in the 1960s and served from 1965 until 2017, when the final vessel in the class was decommissioned.

The SINKEX, which took place on Saturday, June 27, was meant to demonstrate the capabilities of the standoff weapons, which can “detect and destroy enemy ships at long ranges,” the US Air Force’s Pacific Air Forces wrote.

“The B-2’s impressive performance underscores the US military’s commitment to adaptability and flexibility in the face of emerging security challenges,” said General Kevin B. Schneider, commander of the Pacific Air Forces. “By prioritizing counter-maritime strike operations, we can maintain a decisive edge over adversaries, protect our national interests and ensure the free and open Pacific that underpins our global security.”

What is also notable about the recent SINKEX is that the B-2 was reportedly loaded with the ordnance at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri, earlier this month.

“The bomber later deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, from where it took off for the SINKEX on June 27,” The Aviationist wrote.

The Pacific Air Force stated that the deployment of the LRASM from the long-range strategic bomber could be seen as a “major step forward in countering maritime threats.”

B-2 Spirits were employed in last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer strikes on Iran’s nuclear facility, where the bombers dropped the GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) 30,000-pound precision-guided bunker-busting bombs, and were also used in this year’s Operation Epic Fury against targets in the Islamic Republic. The Spirit can clearly strike targets on land or at sea with equal effectiveness.

The B-2 Spirit’s Specifications

• Year Introduced: 1997
• Number Built: 21 (19 still operational)
• Length: 69 ft (21.0 m)
• Wingspan: 172 ft (52.4 m)
• Weight (MTOW): ~336,500 lb (152,200 kg)
• Engines: Four General Electric F118-GE-100 turbofans (~17,300 lbf thrust each)
• Top Speed: ≈630–650 mph (~1,010–1,045 km/h) / ~Mach 0.95
• Range: ~6,000 nmi (6,900 mi, 11,112 km) unrefueled (intercontinental with aerial refueling; global reach)
• Service Ceiling: ~50,000 ft (15,240 m)
• Loadout: Internal weapons bays; roughly ~40,000 lb (≈18,000 kg) of ordnance — nuclear and conventional mission sets (B61/B83 certified historically), precision-guided bombs (JDAM, SDB), and select standoff munitions depending on loadout
• Aircrew: 2 (pilot and mission commander)

Production of the B-2 aircraft ran from 1988 until 2000. However, during that time, only 20 production models of the aircraft were built, along with one flight prototype. With the loss of two in accidents, the entire fleet consists of just 19 B-2 Spirits today.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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