Happy Sunday, FighterSweep Fans! Any fans of the dead sexy Rockwell (Boeing) B-1B Lancer out there? If you’ve ever wondered what makes the B-1 truly Bad to the Bone, here 10 facts that should illustrate why this airplane is so badass.
B-1Bs from the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, prior to launch for a Green Flag-West mission.
Fact #1: The Bone carries the largest payload of both guided and unguided munitions in the entire United States Air Force Inventory.
Fact #2: The B-1B’s speed and handling characteristics are more like a fighter, allowing it to seamlessly integrate into large force strike packages.
A Rockwell (Boeing) B-1B Lancer moves into position behind a KC-135 to take on fuel.
Fact #3: The Synthetic Aperture Radar aboard the B-1 is capable of tracking, targeting, and engaging moving vehicles, and features both terrain-following and self-targeting modes.
Fact #4: The B-1A was initially developed in the 1970s as a replacement for the B-52.
A B-1B from the 412 TW at Edwards AFB conducts a high-speed flyby during an airshow.
Fact #5: The B-1A’s top speed was in excess of Mach 2.
Fact #6: The B-1B holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range, and time of climb in its class.
A Bone takes off in full blower during Mission Employment Phase of Weapons School.
Fact #7: The first B-1B was delivered to Dyess Air Force Base in June 1985. The final B-1B was delivered May 2, 1988.
Fact #8: The B-1B was first used in combat in Operation Desert Fox in December 1998.
A Boeing B-1B sits on the ramp at Nellis AFB during sunrise.
Fact #9: In 1999, six B-1s were used in Operation Allied Force, delivering more than 20 percent of the total ordnance while flying less than 2 percent of the combat sorties.
Fact #10: 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. This included nearly 3,900 JDAMs, or 67 percent of the total.
A Boeing B-1B from the 28 BW at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota drops off the tanker and returns to the fight.
| First flight | Dec. 23, 1974 |
| Span | 137 feet (extended), 79 feet (swept aft) |
| Length | 146 feet |
| Height | 34 feet |
| Gross weight | 477,000 pounds |
| Power plant | Four 30,000-plus-pound-thrust General Electric F-101-GE-102 turbofan engines with afterburners |
| Speed | Mach 1.2 at sea level |
| Crew | Four |
| Operating altitude | 30,000-plus feet |
| Armament | Up to 84 Mark 82 conventional 500-pounds bombs, or 30 CBU-87/89/97, or 24 JDAMS, or can be reconfigured for wide range of nuclear bombs |