Rockwell B-1 Lancer

Operational history

Strategic Air Command

The second B-1B, "The Star of Abilene", was the first B-1B delivered to the USAF [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (SAC) in June 1985.

Initial operational capability was reached on 1 October 1986 and the B-1B was placed on nuclear alert status.

The B-1 received the official name "Lancer" on 15 March 1990.

However, the bomber has been commonly called the "Bone"; a nickname that appears to stem from an early newspaper article on the aircraft wherein its name was phonetically spelled out as "B-ONE" with the hyphen inadvertently omitted.

In late 1990 engine fires in two Lancers caused the grounding of the fleet.

The cause was traced back to problems in the first-stage fan, the aircraft were placed on "limited alert"; in other words, they were grounded unless a nuclear war broke out.

Following inspections and repairs they were returned to duty beginning on 6 February 1991.

Due to the engine problems, the B-1B was effectively sidelined in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

Originally designed strictly for nuclear war, the B-1's development as an effective conventional bomber was delayed until the 1990s.

The collapse of the Soviet Union had brought the B-1's nuclear role into question, leading to President [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] ordering a $3 billion conventional refit.
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By 1991, the B-1 had a fledgling conventional capability, forty of them able to drop the 500 lb (230 kg) Mk-82 General Purpose (GP) bomb, although mostly from low altitude.

Despite being cleared for this role, the problems with the engines precluded their use in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

B-1s were primarily reserved for strategic nuclear strike missions at this time, providing the role of airborne nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union.

The B-52 was more suited to the role of conventional warfare and it was used by coalition forces instead.

After the de-activation of Strategic Air Command (SAC) and the establishment of the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (ACC) in 1992, the B-1 developed a greater conventional weapons capability.

Part of this development was the start-up of the US Air Force Weapons School B-1 Division.

In 1994, two additional B-1 bomb wings were also created in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], with former fighter wings in the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] converting to the aircraft.

By the mid-1990s, the B-1 could employ GP weapons as well as various CBUs.

By the end of the 1990s, with the advent of the "Block D" upgrade, the B-1 boasted a full array of guided and unguided munitions.

The B-1B no longer carries nuclear weapons; its nuclear capability was disabled by 1995 with the removal of nuclear arming and fuzing hardware.

Conventional role


Operationally, the B-1 was first used in combat in support of operations against [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], during [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in December 1998, employing unguided GP weapons. B-1s have been subsequently used in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (Kosovo) and, most notably, in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in Afghanistan and the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. The B-1's role in Operation Allied Force has been criticized as the aircraft was not used until after enemy defenses had been suppressed by aircraft like the older B-52 it was intended to replace.The B-1 has deployed an array of conventional weapons in war zones, most notably the GBU-31, 2,000 lb (900 kg) [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (JDAM).JDAM munitions were heavily used by the B-1 over Iraq, notably on 7 April 2003 in an unsuccessful attempt to kill [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and his two sons. At the height of the Iraq War, a B-1 was permanently airborne to provide rapid precision bombardment upon important targets as intelligence identified them.

During Operation Enduring Freedom, the B-1 was able to raise its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to 79%.

The B-1 has higher survivability and speed when compared to the older B-52, which it was intended to replace. It also holds 61 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] world records for speed, payload, distance, and time-to-climb in different aircraft weight classes.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]} In November 1983, three B-1Bs set a long distance record for the aircraft, which demonstrated its ability to conduct extended mission lengths to strike anywhere in the world and return back to base without any stops.The [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1994.

Of the 100 B-1Bs built, 93 remained in 2000 after losses in accidents.

In June 2001, the Pentagon sought to place a third of its then fleet of 93 into reserve; this proposal resulted in several Air National Guard officers and members of Congress lobbying against the proposal, including the drafting of an amendment to prevent such cuts.
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The 2001 proposal was intended to allow money to be diverted to further upgrades to the remaining B-1Bs, such as computer modernization.
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In 2003, accompanied by the removal of B-1Bs from the two bomb wings in the Air National Guard, the USAF decided to retire 33 aircraft to concentrate its budget on maintaining availability of remaining B-1Bs.
In 2004 a new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] called for some of the retired aircraft to return to service, and the USAF returned seven mothballed bombers to service to increase the fleet to 67 aircraft.

On 14 July 2007, the Associated Press reported on the growing USAF presence in Iraq as a result of "surge" in forces.

Also mentioned is the reintroduction of B-1Bs to be a close-at-hand "platform" to support Coalition ground forces.

B-1s have been used in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since 2008 B-1s have been used there in an "armed overwatch" role.

They loiter over the region maintaining surveillance, ready to deliver guided bombs in support of
ground troops if contacted.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien][Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

The B-1B underwent a series of flight tests using a 50/50 mix of synthetic and petroleum fuel; on 19 March 2008, a B-1B from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Texas, became the first US Air Force aircraft to fly at supersonic speed using a [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]
during a flight over Texas and New Mexico.

This was conducted as part of an ongoing Air Force testing and certification program to reduce reliance on traditional oil sources.

On 4 August 2008, a B-1B flew the first [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] equipped combat sortie where the crew successfully targeted enemy ground forces and dropped a GBU-38 guided bomb in Afghanistan.

The USAF had 65 B-1Bs in service in September 2010, split between four squadrons organized into two Bomb Wings: the 7th Bomb Wing at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], Texas, and the 28th Bomb Wing at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien], South Dakota.

In March 2011, B-1Bs from [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] attacked undisclosed targets in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] as part of [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

With upgrades to keep the B-1 viable, the Air Force may keep the bomber in service until approximately 2038.^{[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]}

Despite upgrades, the B-1 has repair and cost issues resulting from its age.

For every flight hour it needs 48.4 hours of repair.

The fuel, repairs and other needs for a 12-hour mission costs $720,000 as of 2010.

In June 2010, senior US Air Force officials met to consider retiring the entire fleet to meet budget cuts.

It is expected to be supplemented by the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] in the 2020s.

Variants

B-1A


The B-1A was the original B-1 design with variable engine intakes and Mach 2.2 top speed.

Four prototypes were built; no production units were manufactured.

B-1B

The B-1B is a revised B-1 design with reduced radar signature and a top speed of Mach 1.25.

It was otherwise optimized for low-level penetration. A total of 100 B-1Bs were produced.


B-1R

The B-1R is a proposed upgrade of existing B-1B aircraft. The B-1R (R for "regional") would be fitted with advanced radars, air-to-air missiles, and new [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] engines.

This variant would have a top speed of Mach 2.2, but with 20% less range.

Existing external hardpoints would be modified to allow multiple conventional weapons to be carried, increasing overall loadout.

For air-to-air defense, an [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] (AESA) radar would be added and some existing hardpoints modified to carry air-to-air missiles.

If needed the B-1R could escape from unfavorable air-to-air encounters with its Mach 2+ speed. Few aircraft
are capable of sustained speeds over Mach 2.