When Stealth Goes Public: The New Years Day B-2 Flyover
The most well-known public showing of the US Air Force's most secretive aircraft
Jack Cook
1/2/20266 min read
Last Year's 2025 B-2 Flyover before the Rose Bowl Game. This flight was conducted by the "Spirit of Nebraska."
The US Air Force operates a number of incredible and secretive aircraft for various roles. Some of them fast fighter jets carrying hi-tech weaponry such as the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, and the venerable F-15 and F-16. They also use refueling aircraft that conduct midair refueling to give their aircraft and other military jets the capability to fly super long distances and perform their mission duties. And of course, the Air Force has been using large heavy bombers capable of striking long distance targets within hours flying time from major air bases around the world and from the continental United States.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, most US Air Force bombers today are typically used for non-nuclear strike missions. There are three types of bombers the Air Force uses, the venerable B-52 Stratofortress (dating back to the Cold War but has been upgraded and modernized over the years). The Supersonic capable B-1B Lancer which also carries the biggest payload of any Air Force bomber (this will come up later in this article as you will see). And last but not least, The B-2 Spirit also known as the "Stealth bomber."
The B-2 Spirit is a tail-less flying wing carrying a 40,000 pound weapons payload. Powered by four General Electric engines, capable of flying up to 600 mph (similar to a commercial airliner), and costing up to $2 Billion per aircraft. The B-2 is capable of hitting targets in heavily guarded and well-defended enemy territories on any point in the world.
The B-2 was introduced in the late 1980s and developed through the late 1970s as an answer to the increasing risk of Soviet surface to air missile technology. The Air Force needed an aircraft capable of flying into enemy territory and hitting its target, but being less noticed on enemy air defense radar. Thereby having less risk of being shot down, and possibly losing an aircraft, its crew and even the technology falling into enemy hands. The B-2 first flew in 1989, but entered operation with the US Air Force after the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended. Despite the B-2 still having the capability of conducting a nuclear bombing mission, all its combat operations have used non-nuclear weapons. Originally an order was made for 132 B-2s, but after the Soviet Union collapsed and costing $2 billion per-aircraft, Northrop Grumman ended up making only 21 B-2s. All the B-2s are named after states (ex. "Spirit of Nebraska" (pictured above). Except for two; those being named "Spirit of Kitty Hawk" (in honor of the first flight by the Wright Brothers) and "Spirit of America". Today only 19 are in use, "Spirit of Kansas" was lost in a crash at Guam in 2008, and "Spirit of Hawaii" was retired after a crash landing.
The B-2 first entered combat service in March 1999 during Operation Allied Force, the NATO Bombing campaign against the former Yugoslavia (now Serbia). B-2s flew direct from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri (the only operational B-2 squadron base) with multiple mid air refueling by air tanker aircraft in midair during the long missions.
The B-2 was also used in Operation Enduring Freedom follwing the September 11 attacks, then later during Iraqi Freedom and Odyssey Dawn in Libya. Recently, the B-2 made headlines when it conducted the strikes on the Iranian nuclear facilities during Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025. The strikes were carried out using bunker-busting bombs designed to hit the nuclear enrichment sites underground. The missions lasted approximately 37-hours and were flown round trip from Whiteman AFB.
About the B-2 Spirit
Public Appearance
In 1997, the B-2 made its first well known public appearance, the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. It conducted a flyover at 8am just before the start of the parade down Colorado Boulevard. Then later in the day, it reappears at the start of the Rose Bowl game flying directly over the stadium. For the general public, it was arguably the first time they had seen the secretive aircraft in public. Although the aircraft has been shown off at air shows in the US and other parts of the world. Even today, details about the B-2s capabilities are still highly classified, in spite of these appearances at the Rose Parade, and Rose Bowl games.
Since 1997, the B-2 has appeared at every Rose Parade and Rose Bowl on New Years Day. Though there have been a few exceptions. The most recent was the 2021 New Years as no parade occurred due to the pandemic. And in 2023, as the incident involving "Spirit of Hawaii" mentioned above caused a temporary grounding of the B-2. That year, the Air Force brought two Supersonic B-1B Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
While not common, the B-1B Lancer flyover for the 2023 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl was incredible given how rare it was and the "BONE" being one of the loudest Air Force aircraft (using 4 afterburner engines common on fighter jets). Both B-1B Lancers are based at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
The "Spirit of Kitty Hawk" Conducting the New Year's Day 2024 Flyover for the Rose Bowl game between Alabama and Michigan.
The "Spirit of Nebraska" Conducting the New Year's Day 2025 Flyover for the Rose Bowl game between Oregon and Ohio.
The 2026 Flyover
While the B-2 was scheduled to appear at the 2026 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Flyover. There was one setback out of everyone's control: the weather. Originally supposed to fly over at the beginning of the parade at 8am, heavy rain and a low cloud ceiling led to the flyover being cancelled. However, the B-2 scheduled to appear had already flown out from Whiteman AFB in Missouri. The crew attempted a low pass over the Van Nuys Airport presumably to get a better idea of the cloud ceiling in a safe area. Given the weather, the crew went to Edwards Air Force Base and prepared to fly over during the start of the Rose Bowl game between Indiana and Alabama.
By this point the rain had stopped and the clouds were higher in the sky, thereby giving viewers the ability to see the aircraft. Unfortunately, the clouds around the nearby mountains were still too thick and they decided to make the flyover happen at the end of halftime (usually occurring after the first two quarters finish). Again, the crew made a low flyover near Van Nuys Airport and entered their final holding pattern. This time, that holding pattern happened to be in the airspace over the Hollywood hills and Universal Studios. Usually, they fly over the Mt Wilson area until they get the go-ahead to commence the flyover. And while they circled the area earlier, the clouds made it too risky to conduct the holding pattern at the usual altitude. Therefore, it must have been an awesome sight and surprise to countless individuals on the ground who were unsure why a B-2 was flying over the area. Finally, at the end of the halftime show, "Spirit of Oklahoma" with the callsign DEATH11 came winging through the canyon where the Rose Bowl was located. In spite of the weather delays and setbacks, it was a satisfying sight to see the B-2 still manage to pull off their New Years flyover albeit under different circumstances.
After numerous weather setbacks, DEATH11 finally appeared the 2026 New Years Rose Bowl Halftime game between Indiana and Alabama. Due to weather delays, "Spirit of Oklahoma" came out from Whiteman AFB in Missouri, but did not appear at the Parade flyover. Therefore, it departed from Edward's AFB and circled near Universal Studios Hollywood (must've been an incredible sight). Finally, at the end of halftime, it came and flew by.