1949 – Northrop launches the YB-49 Flying Wing, big brother to the B-2 stealth bomber. The Northrop YB-49 was a prototype jet-powered heavy bomber aircraft developed by Northrop Corporation shortly after World War II for service with the U.S. Air Force. The YB-49 featured a Flying Wing design and was a jet-powered development of the earlier, piston-engined Northrop XB-35 and YB-35. The two YB-49s actually built were both converted YB-35 test aircraft. The YB-49 never entered production, being pa

Some of the design work performed in the development of the YB-49 proved to be valuable to #NorthropGrumman decades later in the advent of the B-2 Spirit. The first of these new YB-49 jet-powered aircraft flew on October 22, 1947 and set an unofficial endurance record of staying continually above 40,000 ft for 6.5 hours. #FlyingWingFriday | Northrop Grumman Corporation