Big booming facts about the B-1B Lancer bomber (54 Photos)
These are facts about one of the US Air Force’s greatest weapons: the B-1B Lancer.
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It’s fast and can put a single bomb on a dot…
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…or cover a huge area with its payload.
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Lancers have a simple but sweet nickname, the “Bone”.
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She’s powered by four General Electric F-101-GE-102 turbofan engines.
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Each engine churns out 30,000-plus-pound of thrust with afterburners.
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Its flight characteristics make it almost like a fighter jet.
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Because of both its speed and handling, the Lancer can be integrate into multiple Air Force strike packages.
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Lancer’s carry the largest “variety” of payload munitions in the entire United States Air Force Inventory.
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This payload record includes both guided and unguided bombs (B-52 has the “largest payload” but less variety).
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Armament include:
-Up to 84 Mark 82 conventional 500-pounds bombs
-30 CBU-87/89/97
-24 JDAMS (2,000-pound GBU-31s)
-15 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (500-pound GBU-38s)
-8 Mk-65 Quick Strike 2,000-pound naval mines
-24 AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles
-it can be reconfigured for wide range of nuclear bombs
-Up to 84 Mark 82 conventional 500-pounds bombs
-30 CBU-87/89/97
-24 JDAMS (2,000-pound GBU-31s)
-15 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (500-pound GBU-38s)
-8 Mk-65 Quick Strike 2,000-pound naval mines
-24 AGM-158A Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles
-it can be reconfigured for wide range of nuclear bombs
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A crew of four is required to operate the Lancer.
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2 member fly the aircraft.
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The other 2 operate its complex systems such as the Synthetic Aperture Radar.
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This complex radar is capable of tracking, targeting, and engaging moving vehicles, and features both terrain-following and self-targeting modes.
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Lancer’s are one of three strategic bombers in the US Air Force.
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The other 2 bombers are the B-2 Spirit (stealth bomber) and the B-52 Stratofortress.
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Its top speed is over Mach 2 (over 1,500mph).
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In fact, the B-1 “R” proposed upgrade will uses new Pratt & Whitney F119 engines and give her a top speed of Mach 2.2…which is just shy of 1,700mph.
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One of the unique reasons for this supersonic speed ability is the variable-sweep wing.
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At the time of design (back in the late 70’s), using a variable-sweep wing design was a gamble but that decision really paid-off.
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Currently the B-1B holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range, and time of climb in its class.
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In June of 1985 the first B-1B was delivered to Dyess Air Force Base.
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At this point the final B-1B was delivered May 2, 1988…but that could change with the future B-1Rs.
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As of Sept. of 2016 the USAF has a total inventory of 62 Lancers…ready to kick-a** in a moment’s notice.
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Our AF also has 2 extra’s for testing.
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The B-1B was first used in combat in Operation Desert Fox in December 1998.
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During Op. Allied Force, they delivered more than 20 percent of the total ordnance while flying less than 2 percent of the combat sorties.
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During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, eight Lancers dropped nearly 40 percent of the total ordnance delivered by coalition air forces.
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This included nearly 3,900 JDAMs…67 percent of the total.
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B1-B Lancers are expected to stay in service until the 2030s.
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That’s around 50 years of battle.
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In total, the “Bone” has a max payload of 75 thousand pounds of “f*ck you”.
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Like the A-10 and F-16, I believe this will go down as one of the most loved aircrafts ever made. It’s not as sexy as the F-22 but it’s always ready for those who matter…the guys with boots on the ground.
