Open Edition

Un-signed and Un-numbered

 

Nicknamed “The Bone,” the B-1B Lancer is a long-range, multi-mission, supersonic conventional bomber, which has served the United States Air Force since 1985. The aircraft is on track to continue flying, at current demanding operations tempo, out to 2040 and beyond, and Boeing partners with the Air Force to keep the B-1 mission ready. Originally designed for nuclear capabilities, the B-1 switched to an exclusively conventional combat role in the mid-1990s. In 1999, during Operation Allied Force, six B-1s flew 2 percent of the strike missions, yet dropped 20 percent of the ordnance, and during Operation Enduring Freedom the B-1 flew on 2 percent of the sorties while dropping over 40 percent of the precision weapons. The B-1 has been nearly continuously deployed in combat operations over Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.

Digital art composite. A B-1 Lancer awaits a pre-flight inspection at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., on Tuesday, May 23, 2006. The base is undergoing an exercise named Badlands Express 06-03 in preparation for an operational readiness inspection in July. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Michael B. Keller)(Released)