Comment: Can't compare the costs, different roles. (Score 1) 403
Comparing the cost of B-52's and B-2's isn't really fair, they were built with very different political requirements.
The B-52's were made with WW3 in mind, and the basic MAD mission would have been to send hundreds of bombers across the USSR in the hope that most of them would reach their target. During all-out nuclear war it wouldn't matter too much politically if 20-30% of the bombers didn't make it back home, as long as the others scored a hit.
The B-2, however, is designed with the assumption of a much higher survival rate, and no politically embarrassing lost/captured crews. This basically requires that you have a few very expensive aircraft, as opposed to lots of cheap ones.
In other words, the B-2 is much more expensive because it puts a much higher value on the lives of the crews.