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1980-01-10
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B-1B BOMBER
Wingspan (unswept): 136 ft., 8.5 in.
Wingspan (swept): 78 ft., 2.5 in.
Length: 147 ft.
Height: 34 ft.
Weight: 477,000 lbs.
Engines: Four General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofans
Engine thrust: 30,000 lbs.
Operating altitude: 60,000 ft.
Top speed: Mach 1.25 (estimated)
Maximum range: 7,455 miles (estimated)
Date of service: 1986
As potential succesors to the B-52 bomber, the B-58 and B-70 came and went
without success. Then in 1962, the Air Force undertook the Advanced Manned
Strategic Aircraft program to develop a new strategic bomber. The contract
was won in 1970 by the North American Division of Rockwell International,
which has developed the XB-70. Built under the designation B-1, the new
strategic bomber made its maiden flight in December 1974. By 1977, three
of the billion-dollar bombers had been built when the program was canceled.
Four years later when a replacement for the B-52 still had not been found,
President Ronald Reagan revived the program under the designation B-1B.
The B-1B program produced a new bomber that included redesigned engine air
intakes to reduce the aircraft's radar profile to far less than that of the
B-52. Because of its radar profile, a B-1B can penetrate enemy airspace
with a 99 times better chance than a B-52. The redesigned intakes cut the
speed of the B-1B to just over Mach 1, which is half again as fast as the
B-52.
The first B-1B made its initial flight in October 1984. The first B-1B
squadron became operational with the United States Air Force Strategic Air
Command in October 1986. The last of the B-1Bs were completed under budget
and ahead of schedule in April 1988.
Despite its smaller size than the B-52, the B-1B can carry more bombs and
Short Range Attack Missiles than the B-52H. It can also accommodate eight
air-launched cruise missiles in the internal weapons bay and another 12 out-
side.
The B-1B bomber handles like a fighter. It can accelerate fast and turn
quickly. The B-1B was designed for low-level flight to penetrate enemy
radar nets. It can fly at high subsonic speed and is equipped with terrain-
following radar and variable-geometry wings. Although it is packed with
sophisticated avionics, the B-1B has nevertheless been plagued with
mechanical problems. None served in the Gulf War.