B-prepared to catch a glimpse of the B-2 Spirit Bomber on New Year’s Day here in Southern California.
The B-2 Spirit stealth bomber will return to the Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena today, according to the Air Force 509th Bomb Wing.
The flyover did not make an appearance at the 2023 Rose Parade or Rose Bowl Game due to a B-2 catching on fire in the process of making an emergency landing at the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Dec. 10, 2022, according to FLYING Magazine.
Two B-1 Lancer Bombers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota flew over the 2023 Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game instead.
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“We have enjoyed a long relationship with the city of Pasadena and are honored to bring the B-2 back to demonstrate Team Whiteman’s commitment to the American people,” 509th Bomb Wing commander at Whiteman Air Force Base Col. Keith J. Butler said in a news release.
The B-2’s flyover has been a New Year’s Day tradition since 2005.
The B-2 will kick off the highly anticipated playoff Rose Bowl matchup between the University of Michigan’s Wolverines and the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide — the winner of which will advance to the national championship game on Jan. 8.
Parade viewers can expect to see the B-2 Spirit bomber flying overhead at approximately 8 a.m. on New Year’s morning.
