He finished initial qualification training for the B-2 in January and was preparing to move onto mission qualification training at the 393rd Bomb Squadron. Beck was originally a B-52 pilot at the 20th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Chris “Thunder” Beck, one of the wing’s aspiring B-2 pilots. And the prospect of being a “protector,” flying the B-2, is exciting, he said.ī-2 training requires a lot of academic work and simulation hours before a pilot can even touch one of the bombers, said Capt. He quickly learned it was “one of the best gigs in the Air Force.” He still gets hours flying the T-38, since instructor pilots are always needed. Designed during the Cold War, it is a flying wing design with a crew of two.
Cameron said that almost a decade ago, they started bringing pilots straight out of undergraduate pilot training.īut he didn’t know that was possible at first and was surprised when he found out he could go straight to a B-2 squadron. 21 1 2 The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses. Cameron is a “direct hire” and is in his first assignment after finishing training to be a T-38 instructor pilot at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. Brandon Cameron of the 13th Bomb Squadron. One of those aspiring B-2 pilots was 1st Lt. Air Force Global Strike Command still finds new B-2 pilots by cross-training them from other communities, like Air Force Special Operations Command, Nichols said, but B-2 wings are increasingly bringing on pilots directly from Air Education and Training Command - and they have to keep training and developing their skills.