Editing Northrop B-2 Spirit (section)

===1990s===
The first operational aircraft, christened ''Spirit of Missouri'', was delivered to [[Whiteman Air Force Base]], [[Missouri]], where the fleet is based, on 17 December 1993.<ref name=Pace_p66>{{harvnb|Pace|1999|p=66}}</ref> The B-2 reached initial operational capability (IOC) on 1 January 1997.<ref name=Pace_p73>{{harvnb|Pace|1999|p=73}}</ref> Depot maintenance for the B-2 is accomplished by USAF contractor support and managed at [[Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center]] at [[Tinker Air Force Base]].<ref name=B-2_AF_fact_sheet>[https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104482/b-2-spirit/ "B-2 Spirit Fact Sheet."]  ''U.S. Air Force''. Retrieved 8 January 2015.</ref> Originally designed to deliver nuclear weapons, modern usage has shifted towards a flexible role with conventional and nuclear capability.<ref name= "tucker 177"/>

The B-2's combat debut was in 1999, during the [[Kosovo War]]. It was responsible for destroying 33% of selected Serbian bombing [[Bullseye (target)|targets]] in the first eight weeks of U.S. involvement in the war.<ref name=B-2_AF_fact_sheet/> During this war, six B-2s flew non-stop to [[Yugoslavia]] from their home base in Missouri and back, totaling 30 hours. Although the bombers accounted 50 sorties out of a total of 34,000 NATO sorties, they dropped 11 percent of all bombs.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ho|first=David|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23222353.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924180425/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23222353.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|title=Air Force Says Bomber Performed Well|agency=Associated Press|date=30 June 1999|access-date=12 June 2015}}</ref> The B-2 was the first aircraft to deploy GPS satellite-guided [[Joint Direct Attack Munition|JDAM "smart bombs"]] in combat use in Kosovo.<ref>Hansen, Staff Sgt. Ryan. [https://www.af.mil/News/story/id/123017613/ "JDAM continues to be warfighter's weapon of choice."] ''US Air Force'', 17 March 2006. Retrieved 13 September 2009.</ref> The use of JDAMs and precision-guided munitions effectively replaced the controversial tactic of [[Carpet bombing|carpet-bombing]], which had been harshly criticized due to it causing indiscriminate civilian casualties in prior conflicts, such as the 1991 [[Gulf War]].<ref>{{harvnb|Tucker|2010|pp= 177–178}}</ref> On 7 May 1999, a B-2 erroneously [[U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade|dropped five JDAMs on the Chinese Embassy]]<ref>{{harvnb|Rip|Hasik|2002|p=398}}</ref> due to an error in targeting instructions, killing three people and injuring 20.<ref name="Schmitt" /> By then, the B-2 had dropped 500 bombs in Yugoslavia.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Diamond|first=John|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23143398.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924180409/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-23143398.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|title=B-2s Turn Out Not To Be Solo Flyers|agency=Associated Press|date=7 May 1999|access-date=14 June 2015}}</ref>