Is it a fish?

This strange aircraft looks surprisingly like some sinister ray. It's certainly capable of delivering a nasty shock!

I took this photograph at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) at Fairford. The aircraft is a B-2 Spirit ("Stealth Bomber"). By no stretch of the imagination is the B-2 an object of beauty, it nevertheless exerts a hypnotic fascination.

Over the wing on our left, you can observe two Hawks from the Red Arrows playing coloured games.

I had seen these "highly secret" B-2s in the air a couple of times in previous years, but never had the opportunity to inspect one at close quarters on the ground before. In fact, I believe that this was the first time one had been shown like this in the UK. The need for secrecy has evaporated over the years, of course. Not that it was ever as secret as the USAF wished! The B-2 was first publicly displayed on 22 November 1988. This initial viewing was heavily restricted and guests were not allowed to see the rear of the B-2. However, the editors of Aviation Week found that there were no airspace restrictions over presentation area and to the disappointment of the USAF, took photographs of the aircraft's then-secret planform and suppressed engine exhausts from above...

The bomber's stealth is intended to allow it to penetrate sophisticated air defences. It comes from a combination of reduced acoustic, infrared, visual and radar signatures. Many specific aspects of the low-observability process remain classified. The B-2's composite materials, special coatings and flying wing design, which reduces the number of leading edges, contribute to its stealth characteristics. The engines are buried within the wing to conceal the engines' fans and minimize visibility of the exhaust. Each B-2 requires a climate-controlled hangar, large enough to accommodate its 52 m wingspan, to protect the operational integrity of its sophisticated radar absorbent material and coatings.

And, finally, each B-2 reputedly costs $2 billion. An expensive fish, indeed! Fugu, anyone?