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B-1 Lancer Image Gallery (there are a total of 78 images)
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Aircraft description (most info is taken from Wikipedia)
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The B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). Together with the B-52 Stratofortress and the B-2 Spirit, it is the backbone of the United States's long-range bomber force.
Development history B-1A program The B-1 was conceived as the Advanced Manned Strategic Aircraft (AMSA) program circa 1965. AMSA was intended to replace the B-52 Stratofortress with a multi-role aircraft capable of long-range bombing and missile launching with nuclear weapons. By this time, the state of the art in engine and airframe design had improved considerably; even an aircraft designed to match the B-52's strategic roles would nevertheless end up being much more advanced. Several design concepts then in vogue ended up in the AMSA concept design. These included the use of variable geometry wings in order to provide both high lift during takeoff and landing, and low drag during a high-speed dash phase. Penetration of the USSR's defenses would take place in a dash, crossing them as quickly as possible before entering into the less defended "heartland" where speeds could be reduced again. The large size and fuel capacity of the design would allow this dash portion of the flight to be relatively long, allowing it to outrun fighters, who would run out of fuel before catching it. Crew escape was provided for using an escape pod that ejected a portion of the entire cockpit with both pilots inside, as opposed to the more conventional ejection seats; it was felt that egress during the high-speed, high-altitude dash would be too dangerous without pressurization. After a prolonged development period, the contract was awarded in 1970 to North American Rockwell. The company would change its name to Rockwell International and named its aircraft division North American Aircraft Operations in 1973. The first of four prototype B-1A models (s/n 74-158) flew on December 23, 1974. In addition to filling all of the performance goals, Rockwell added on a twist of their own. For low-altitude flight the length of the aircraft presented a serious flexing problem due to air turbulence. The B-1 included small delta-wings near the nose that were connected to an accelerometer; they were actuated automatically to counteract the turbulence, smoothing out the ride for the pilots and aircraft alike. There was some suggestion that this system might be useful on commercial airliners as well, but to date no airliner has made use of this system. Throughout the program the real need for the B-1 continued to be a hot topic. Early generations of ICBMs had warning times on the order of an hour, meaning they could conceivably be caught on the ground in a sneak attack before they could be launched. Bombers, on the other hand, could be in the air and far enough from their bases in a few minutes, guaranteeing a retaliatory strike capability. But the introduction of solid fuel designs in the 1960s had reduced the required warning-to-launch time to even less than bombers (much less) and the need for bomber-borne strategic capability became more difficult to defend. Improved SLBMs with the accuracy needed to attack enemy silos further reduced any need for a bomber-based second-strike capability, as it could be assumed the submarine force was largely immune to attack and could fill this role. Even if one wanted to continue the manned bomber force in the strategic role, something the Air Force was adamant about, the need for high-speed dash as an avoidance mechanism was seriously in doubt. Anti-aircraft missiles attack from below on an intercept course, and the forward speed of the aircraft is little concern for anything other than warning time. Mach 2.5 was simply not fast enough to reduce these times to improve survival much, a fact that had already led to the cancellation of the XB-70 Valkyrie in the early 1960s. The best way to avoid air defenses was not speed, but to fly at low altitudes, which reduced exposure time to the enemy radars much more than flying faster at high altitude could hope to achieve. The B-52 was expected to be able to survive in some numbers by using a combination of low-level flight and blasting its way in with SRAM missiles destroying known defenses in front of it, and the same sort of mission profile was expected to be used by the new aircraft as well. The high-speed dash seemed like an extremely expensive option with little military value. With the strategic role seriously in doubt the need for an expensive high-speed aircraft appeared to be quite low. But this was only one of several roles the B-52 could be expected to be called on to provide. The B-52 was also an excellent bomb truck, notably in its modified "fat belly" versions that increased bombload. With improved coordination with ground spotters, three-plane formations had proven to be superb ground-attack weapons during the Vietnam War. Additionally the aircraft's global range and cruise missile armament made it a sort of fleet in being against smaller countries, who had reason to fear attack at any time if they provoked the US too much. But for these roles the B-1 was little better than the B-52; against older defensive systems the B-1 would certainly be better able to penetrate into enemy airspace than the B-52, but again, this seemed like an extremely expensive way to solve this problem when aircraft like the F-111 were available. And as a bomb truck, the B-1 was actually less capable than the B-52. In the end all of these arguments weighed against the program. At the same time new life extension programs for the B-52 were being planned that could extend their life well into the 21st century, about the same timeframe the B-1 in its original form could be expected to last. The program was eventually cancelled by decision of President Jimmy Carter in 1977, although this was an extremely difficult decision to make politically. Flight tests of the four B-1A models continued through 1985. The first B-1A was scrapped at the Rome Air Development Center, New York. The second (s/n 74-159) flew for the subsequent B-1B program, but crashed on August 29, 1984. The escape pod ejected from the aircraft, but the parachute deployed improperly and the pilot, Doug Benefield, was killed on impact. The other two B-1As survived. The third prototype (s/n 74-160) is on display at Wings Over the Rockies in Denver, Colorado. The last B-1A (s/n 74-174) also served in the B-1B program. It was on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio for many years before moving to the Strategic Air and Space Museum in Ashland, Nebraska. This aircraft has conventional ejection seats and other features distinctive to the B-1B variant instead of the B-1A. B-1B program The Reagan Administration restarted the B-1 program in 1981 as part of its overall military buildup. The B-1 was by then intended to serve as an interim bomber in anticipation of the stealthy Advanced Technology Bomber (which emerged as the B-2 Spirit). Numerous changes to made to the design to better fit it to real-world missions, resulting in the new B-1B. These changes included a reduction in speed that removed the Mach 2.5 dash capability, which allowed the variable-aspect intake ramps to be replaced with fixed ramps of considerably reduced complexity. Low-altitude speed was largely unaffected by this change, as these speeds are generally limited by airframe loads due to the drag of the higher density air. This left aircraft with the capability for speeds around Mach 1.25 "at altitude" and about Mach 0.95 "on the deck". Additionally the aircraft's design gave it excellent transonic acceleration. One new problem was that the USSR was at that time developing its first "look-down, shoot-down" radars and missiles. These allowed the fighter to stay at high altitudes and survey a large area of low-level airspace, shooting at targets from above where they could maintain their speed advantage and keep some sort of range capability. In order to counteract these sorts of threats, the electronic warfare suite of the B-1 was significantly upgraded and added considerably to the aircraft's price. One thing that did not change was the engines, which remained the General Electric F101s. These engines were tuned for high-speed performance, and sacrificed cruise performance as a side-effect. For the new B-1B, GE modified the engine with the addition of a low-bypass fan, creating the F101-102, GE's first afterburning turbofan. The core of this engine has since been re-used in several other engine designs, including the F110 which has seen use in the F-14 Tomcat, South Korean F-15 Eagles and most recent versions of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. It is also the basis for the non-afterburning F118 used in the B-2 Spirit bomber, and later the U-2S. However its greatest success was forming the core of the extremely popular CFM56 civil engine, which can be found on some versions of practically every small-to-medium sized airliner. Critics pointed out that many of the original problems with the concept remained. In particular it seemed the B-52 fit with electronics similar to the B-1B would be equally able to avoid interception, as the speed advantage was mitigated by the shoot-down capabilities. In other ways the B-1B remained equally unimpressive in comparison to the B-52, and the slower speeds than the original B-1A was the source of snide comments (although unwisely). It also appeared that the "interim" time frame served by the B-1B would be on the order of a decade. The $200 million price per aircraft seemed like a lot to pay for a design of dubious use and limited lifetime. But the Air Force very astutely spread production subcontracts across many congressional districts, making the aircraft very popular on Capitol Hill. While the B-1A program may have been difficult to kill, killing the B-1B was basically impossible. The first production model of the revised B-1B first flew in October 1984, and the first B-1B, "The Star of Abilene," was delivered to Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas, in June 1985, with initial operational capability on October 1, 1986. The final B-1B was delivered May 2, 1988. Technology The B-1 has a blended wing body configuration, along with variable-geometry wing design and turbofan engines, to improve range and speed with enhanced survivability. Forward wing settings are used for takeoff, landings and high-altitude maximum cruise. Aft wing settings are used in high subsonic and supersonic flight, enhancing the B-1's performance. The wings of the B-1B originally were cleared for use at settings of 15, 25, 55, and 67.5 degrees. The 45-degree setting was later cleared in 1998–1999. Unlike the B-1A, the B-1B made no attempt at Mach 2+ speeds, although its F101-GE-102 engines are somewhat more powerful than those of the B-1A. Its maximum speed at altitude is Mach 1.2 (about 950 mph or 1,330 km/h), although its low-level speed, Mach 0.95 (about 700 mph/1,118 km/h) is superior to the B-1A's Mach 0.85. Technically, the current version of the aircraft can exceed its speed restriction, but not without risking potential damage to its structure and modified air intakes which were developed to make the aircraft more stealthy. The B-1's offensive avionics include the Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) AN/APQ-164 forward-looking offensive radar set with electronic beam steering (and a fixed antenna pointed downward for reduced radar observability), synthetic aperture radar, ground moving target indicator (MTI), and terrain-following radar modes, Doppler navigation, radar altimeter, and an inertial navigation suite. From 1995 on, the B-1B Block D upgrade added a Global Positioning System receiver. The B-1's defensive electronics include the Eaton AN/ALQ-161 radar warning and defensive jamming equipment, linked to a total of eight AN/ALE-49 flare dispensers located on top behind the canopy, which are handled by the AN/ASQ-184 avionics management system. The AN-ALE 49 has a capacity of 12 MJU 23 A/B flares each. The MJU 23 A/B flare is one of the world's largest infrared countermeasure flares having a gross weight of ~1170 g. The cylindrical pellet from Magnesium/Teflon/Viton has a net weight of ~1470 g. The Plans for a defensive systems upgrade program (DSUP) were cancelled for budgetary reasons. The B-1 has also been equipped to carry the ALE-50 Towed Decoy System. The Lancer has an additional Doppler tail-warning radar to detect aircraft or missiles approaching from the rear. Also aiding the B-1's survivability is its relatively low radar cross-section (RCS). Although not technically a stealth aircraft in a comprehensive sense, thanks to the aircraft's structure, serpentine intake paths, and use of radar-absorbent material, its RCS is about 1/50th that of the B-52 (probably about 26 ft²), although the Lancer is not substantially smaller in mass than the Stratofortress. The B-1 has been upgraded since production through the Conventional Mission Upgrade Program. This multi-stage program added a new MIL-STD-1760 smart-weapons interface that enables the use of the Joint Direct Attack Munition and other precision-guided conventional weapons, such as the Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD), the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), and the AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air to Surface Standoff Munition). Future precision munitions such as the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb may be added. These and other improvements are intended to ensure that the B-1 will be viable through approximately 2020. In addition, the Air Force has recently announced a program to keep the aircraft flying until at least 2040. Operational history The USAF Strategic Air Command had B-1 Lancers in service from 1986 through 1992, when SAC was re-organized out of existence. During that time the "Bone" was on limited alert, and the backbone of SAC's alert bombers remained B-52H models. In October 1990 Lancer 86-0128 lost an entire engine, although the cause was not known at the time. On 19 December 1990 Lancer 84-0071's #3 engine caught on fire, and could not be extinguished with both the main and reserve fire-extinguishers. This later event led to the grounding of the fleet, and was traced back to problems in the first-stage fan. Aircraft were placed on "limited alert", meaning they were grounded unless a nuclear war broke out, and were returned to duty one-at-a-time starting in January 1991 as they were inspected and repaired. It was not until mid-April that the fleet was once again declared airworthy. This precluded their use in Operation Desert Storm. Originally designed strictly for nuclear war, the B-1's development as an effective conventional bomber was delayed until the 1990s. By 1991, the B-1 had a fledgling conventional capability, forty of them able to drop the 500-pound Mk-82 General Purpose (GP) bomb, although mostly from low altitude. After the absorption of Strategic Air Command (SAC) into Air Combat Command in 1992, the B-1 began to truly develop conventionally. A key part of this development was the start-up of the B-1 Weapons School Division, also in 1992. By the mid-'90s, the B-1 could employ GP weapons as well as various CBUs. By the end of the '90s, with the advent of the "Block D" upgrade, the B-1 boasted a full array of guided and unguided munitions. This development has continued through the present. Operationally, the B-1 was first used in combat in support of operations against Iraq during Operation Desert Fox in December 1998, employing unguided GP weapons. B-1s have been subsequently used in Operation Allied Force (Kosovo) and most notably in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom. In OEF and OIF, the B-1 employed its full array of weapons, most notably the GBU-31, 2000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). Also during OEF and OIF, the B-1 has maintained a 79% mission capable rate, a considerable improvement over its previous 57% average rate. The B-1 continues to be used in combat to the present (2006). The most recent addition to its arsenal is the GBU-38, a 500-pound JDAM. The use of the GBU-38 reduces undesired collateral damage and is very useful in urban Close Air Support. The B-1 was given new life as the new threats of the 21st century emerged, and now fills an important niche in the Air Force inventory. It is worth noting that the project finished on budget, and has higher survivability and speed when compared to the older B-52, which it was intended to replace. With the arrival of limited numbers of B-2s in the 1990s and the continuing use of B-52s, its value has been questioned. However, the capability of a high-speed strike with a large bomb payload for time-sensitive operations is useful, and no new strategic bomber is on the immediate horizon. The B-1 holds several world records for speed, payload and distance. The National Aeronautic Association recognized the B-1B for completing one of the 10 most memorable record flights for 1993. Partial retirement A total of 100 front-line aircraft were produced at a cost of over $200 million each. After several accidents that resulted in the loss of aircraft (and in some cases the death of crew members), 93 bombers remained by the turn of the century. In 2003 the USAF decided to retire 33 of the B-1Bs to concentrate its budget on maintaining availability of the remaining aircraft, although in 2004 a new appropriations bill called for some of the retired aircraft to return to service. In 2004, the USAF returned seven of the mothballed bombers to service, giving a total force of 67 aircraft, with the rest cannibalized for spares. Five of the seven that were brought back to service went to Dyess AFB in Texas, one to Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota, and another to Edwards AFB in California. In 2005, The Pentagon announced the closing of Ellsworth AFB and the transfer of all operational B-1s to Dyess AFB. However, on August 26, 2005, it was announced that Ellsworth AFB would remain open; thus, no transfer of Ellsworth's B-1s would occur. Upgrades 1.Conventional Mission Upgrade Program The Conventional Mission Upgrade Program (CMUP) will enhance the airplane's effectiveness as a conventional weapons carrier. Capability will be delivered in blocks attained by hardware modifications and software updates.
2.B-1R The B-1R is a proposed replacement for the B-1B fleet. Boeing's director of global strike integration, Rich Parke, was first quoted about the "B-1R" bomber in Air Force Magazine. Parke said the B-1R (R stands for "regional") would be a Lancer with advanced radars, air-to-air missiles, and Pratt & Whitney F119 engines (originally developed for the F-22 Raptor). Its new top speed — Mach 2.2 — would be purchased at the price of a 20% reduction of the B-1B's combat range. This proposal would involve modifying existing aircraft. The FB-22 and YF-23 are alternative proposals. The B-2 has proven itself in the "limited strike" role, able to penetrate any current air defense system and deliver conventional bombs with impunity. The role of "fleet in being" is ably served, and there appears to be no reason to maintain the B-52s for this purpose alone. This leaves the "bomb truck" duty as the B-52's primary role that is not currently filled by other aircraft. Other changes in the nature of modern air warfare have also come into play. Missiles like the AIM-120 and AIM-9X so improve on older designs that the primary determinant of air combat success appears to be having the best radars and display systems – the aircraft that can detect, lock-on and shoot first will almost certainly win an engagement, even, to a limited degree, against aircraft behind it. The idea of a "missile truck" for air-to-air combat has long been a dream of fighter designers, notably in the U.S. Navy, but these designs were always found to be seriously flawed when the missiles turned out to have disappointing real-world performance compared to their paper predictions. This era appears to be at an end, and the concept of a long-range heavy missile-firing air-to-air platform appears to be a practical possibility, even for a large and unmaneuverable aircraft. Boeing's proposal appears to modify the B-1B into a design able to serve these two purposes. For the bomb-truck role Boeing proposes the modification of existing external hardpoints to allow them to carry multiple conventional warheads, dramatically improving overall warload. For the air-to-air role, both defensive and offensive, they propose to add active electronically-scanned array radar and allow some of the hardpoints to carry AA missiles. Even with its somewhat reduced range as compared to the original B-1B, its fuel capacity remains quite large. This would allow it to escape from unfavorable air-to-air encounters by simply running away; there are few enough aircraft capable of Mach 2.2 performance in general, and those that are deployed can maintain these speeds for very short periods of time. In general terms the B-1R most closely resembles the original F-111 concept, as opposed to a pure bomber role. However it would be able to carry out these missions at ranges even greater than the F-111. Crashes and malfunctions
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General characteristics ( B-1B Lancer )
Performance ( B-1B Lancer )
Armament ( B-1B Lancer )
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