Jason Isaacs: B-2 Spirit

A History of the World in Spy Objects, Episode 6: Jason Isaacs - B-2 Spirit

NARRATOR: What ghosts lie hidden in the archives of espionage? What story might an unassuming item yield, when placed under the right light? I’m Alice Loxton, and this is A History of the World in Spy Objects. When we think of a secret, we tend to imagine something small, quiet, delicate... In reality, secrets come in all shapes and sizes. This entry to the archive proves that.

JASON ISAACS: I want to talk about the Stealth Bomber.

NARRATOR: Let me introduce you to Jason Isaacs. An actor best known, perhaps, for his work in blockbuster sci-fi properties like Star Wars and Star Trek. But what does play pretend have to do with the real world of espionage? In truth, the relationship between fantasy and reality is closer than you may think.

JASON ISAACS: In fact, so many things that exist in the real world were initially generated by sci-fi. So I was in a season of Star Trek and mobile phones owe a lot to the communicator and who knows if we’ll be getting transporters soon where we materialize somewhere else? But unquestionably, the Stealth Bomber and the Stealth Fighter come out of the Star Wars design and other sci-fi things.

NARRATOR: The Stealth Bomber that Jason is referring to is the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit. Feverishly designed in the dying days of the Cold War, its first flight came in 1989, just months before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It had been designed to penetrate even the most advanced anti-aircraft defenses, and drop weapons both conventional and thermo-nuclear, if need be, on unsuspecting targets below. But, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it existed through the decade-or-so of its production as something of a relic - a reminder of the nuclear fever pitch of the years before. Google the B-2 Stealth Bomber and you’ll see a plane that looks more like a spacecraft. Hyper-futuristic, angular frame, sleek gunmetal. It’s not hard to see the relationship between a jet like this and the iconic X-Wing from Star Wars, gliding smoothly over some intergalactic desert.

JASON ISAACS: But I love it particularly because I have been in one and not many people can say that. I was in a film called Armageddon years ago and Jerry Bruckheimer, having made Top Gun, was very popular with the Pentagon, so they gave him billions of dollars worth of set dressing for Armageddon and we had all these extraordinary planes and we had the space shuttle and we had the Stealth Bomber.

NARRATOR: Jason’s not exaggerating about the cost of Armageddon’s set dressing. Each B-2 bomber cost $2bn to make. Initially, the US government had ordered the production of more than 100 of the aircraft. A reminder, if you needed one, of how seriously the Soviet threat was taken. It was at Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California that Jason came into contact with the full extent of American military muscle.

JASON ISAACS: The first thing I knew about it was that we were taken into a giant hangar. All of us would-be macho actors and the guy in charge of us said, “Okay, I’m going to shut the doors now. You might want to hold hands.” Seemed like a strange thing to say. And somebody braver than me asked why and he said, “Because, once this door is closed, it’s the darkest, quietest place on planet Earth.” And it’s because that's where they test the Stealth Fighter for sonar pings and stuff. He closed the door and sure enough, it felt like we’d gone into some kind of primeval swamp and we all grabbed for each other because it was very disorientating.

NARRATOR: But the star of the show? That B-2 Stealth Bomber, in all its glimmering glory.

JASON ISAACS: This thing arrived on the first day and it arrived with a platoon of soldiers who stood 50 meters from it. We couldn’t get anywhere close to it, of course. On about the second or third day they said, “Do you want to come and have a look around it?” So, we were allowed to snoop around the base of it. On about the fifth or sixth day, they said, “Do you want to go inside the cockpit?”

NARRATOR: Jason didn’t need to be asked twice. He leaped inside the B-2’s two-man cockpit and seized an opportunity few of us will ever be offered.

JASON ISAACS: Because I was always a gadgety early adopter. I had a Sony PC7 which was the very first little mini-DV camera and I was filming everything on Armageddon - we were allowed to - but Edwards Air Force base is one of the most secure bases on Earth. And as you approach the center-most secure place, first they check your bag. Then, they take your bag from you. Then, they check your belt and your pockets and look down your throat or whatever. But I still had this camera because no one knew what they were in those days.

NARRATOR: Well hello there, Jason. Sounds like you may have what it takes to make it as an undercover operative. 

JASON ISAACS: And I was in the cockpit. And it was amazing because the fuselage was all exposed. It’s not a passenger aircraft, so they had no reason to hide the workings of it - in case you were in there and you had to suddenly fix something. And I said, “Wow, this is unbelievable.” And I said, “I couldn’t film some of this, could I?” I mean presumably you’d kill me and all my family. And he said, “Yes, you can film over there. Don’t film anything on the left.” And I said, “Are you sure?” And he said, “I guess. I mean, you’re not supposed to be in here anyway, so what the hell?” So I opened my camera and I filmed one half of the cockpit of the Stealth Bomber, and then I said, “Do you want to check the footage?” And he said, “No. No, you’re alright, I was watching you.”

NARRATOR: If Jason Isaacs had been a spy, then he’d just played a masterstroke, bumbling his way into all manner of state secrets.

JASON ISAACS: For the next few days, at night, I was waiting for my hotel door to be kicked open by a bunch of men in black, bursting in and taking it off me. But it was the most incredible and space age thing - and I’d been in actual supposed spacecraft many times - but the real thing was more impressive than anything you’ll ever see.

NARRATOR: And that was his impression just seeing the aircraft grounded.

JASON ISAACS: Unfortunately I didn’t get to take off. Another week or two and who knows, given how many different security protocols had fallen by the wayside? 

NARRATOR: Going airborne in a Stealth Bomber will have to be one for the sequel. Production of the B-2 ceased in the year 2000 - but 20 of the 21 created are still in operation in the US Air Force today. Meaning, Jason may still get his chance yet. In the meantime, at least he has his home movie, full of state secrets, any time he’s feeling nostalgic. I’m Alice Loxton. More secrets from the archives of espionage await in A History of the World in Spy Objects. Explore them at your leisure.