The B-1 Lancer is a strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force. First envisioned in the 1960s as a supersonic bomber with sufficient range and payload to replace the B-52 Stratofortress, it developed primarily into a low-level penetrator with long-range and capable of supersonic speed. Its development was stopped and restarted multiple times over its history, as the theory of strategic balance changed from flexible response to mutually assured destruction and back again. It eventually entered service more than 20 years after first being studied.
The B-1B production version has been in service with the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1986. The B-1 Lancer serves as the supersonic component of the USAF's long-range bomber force, along with the subsonic B-52 and B-2 Spirit. The bomber is commonly called the "Bone" (originally from "B-One"). With the retirement of the EF-111 Raven in 1998 and the F-14 Tomcat in 2006, the B-1B is the U.S. military's only active variable-sweep wing aircraft.
Specifications (B-1B)
General characteristics- Crew: 4 (aircraft commander, copilot, offensive systems officer and defensive systems officer)
- Length: 146 ft (44.5 m)
- Wingspan:
- Extended: 137 ft (41.8 m)
- Swept: 79 ft (24.1 m)
- Height: 34 ft (10.4 m)
- Wing area: 1,950 ft² (181.2 m²)
- Airfoil: NA69-190-2
- Empty weight: 192,000 lb (87,100 kg)
- Loaded weight: 326,000 lb (148,000 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 477,000 lb (216,400 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× General Electric F101-GE-102 augmented turbofans
- Dry thrust: 14,600 lbf (64.9 kN) each
- Thrust with afterburner: 30,780 lbf (136.92 kN) each
- Fuel capacity, optional: 10,000 U.S. gal (38,000 L) fuel tank for 1-3 internal weapons bays each
Performance
- Maximum speed:
- At altitude: Mach 1.25 (830 mph, 1,330 km/h)
- At low level: Mach 0.92 (700 mph, 1,130 km/h)
- Range: 6,478 nmi (7,456 mi, 11,998 km)
- Combat radius: 2,993 nmi (3,445 mi, 5,543 km)
- Service ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,000 m)
- Wing loading: 167 lb/ft² (816 kg/m²)
- Thrust/weight: 0.38
Armament
- Hardpoints: six external hardpoints for 59,000 lb (27,000 kg) of ordnance (use for weapons currently restricted by START I treaty) and 3 internal bomb bays for 75,000 lb (34,000 kg) of ordnance.
- Missiles:
- Bombs:
- 84× Mk-82 AIR inflatable retarder general purpose bombs
- 81× Mk-82 low drag general purpose bombs
- 84× Mk-62 Quickstrike sea mines
- 24× Mk-65 naval mines
- 30× CBU-87/89/CBU-97 Cluster Bomb Units (CBU)
- 30× CBU-103/104/105 Wind Corrected Munitions Dispenser
- 24× GBU-31 JDAM GPS guided bombs
- 15× GBU-38 JDAM GPS guided bombs (Mk-82 general purpose warhead)
- 24× Mk-84 general purpose bombs
- 12× AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon
- 96× or 144× GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb GPS guided bombs (not fielded on B-1 yet)
- 24× AGM-158 JASSM
- 24× B61 thermonuclear variable-yield gravity bombs
- 24x B83 nuclear bomb
Avionics
- 1× AN/APQ-164 forward-looking offensive passive phased-array radar
- 1× AN/ALQ-161 radar warning and defensive jamming equipment
- 1× AN/ASQ-184 defensive management system
- 1× Lockheed Martin Sniper XR targeting pod (optional)
The B-1 Lancer has a blended wing body configuration, with variable-sweep wing, triangular fin control surfaces and four turbofan engines, to improve range and speed with enhanced survivability. Forward-swept wing settings are used for takeoff, landings and high-altitude maximum cruise. Aft-swept wing settings are used in high subsonic and supersonic flight. 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 1998–99 timeframe.
The B-1 Lancer length of the aircraft presented a serious flexing problem due to air turbulence at low altitude. To alleviate this, Rockwell included small canards near the nose on the B-1. An accelerometer would actuate the canards automatically to counteract turbulence and smooth out the ride.
Unlike the B-1A, the B-1B made no attempt at Mach 2+ speeds. The B-1 Lancer maximum speed at altitude is Mach 1.25 (about 950 mph or 1,530 km/h), but its low-level speed increased to Mach 0.92 (700 mph, 1,130 km/h). Technically, the current version of the aircraft can exceed its speed restriction, but not without risking potential damage to its structure and air intakes. The B-1A's engine was modified slightly to produce the F101-102, with an emphasis on durability, and increased efficiency. 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, F-15K/SG variants 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 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. The nose gear cover door has controls for the auxiliary power units (APUs), main gear doors and nearby entry ladder. One of controls there allows for quick starts of the APUs upon order to scramble.
The B-1 Lancer offensive avionics include the Westinghouse (now Northrop Grumman) AN/APQ-164 forward-looking offensive passive electronically scanned array 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 Lancer 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 dispenser has a capacity of 12 MJU-23A/B flares each. The MJU-23A/B flare is one of the world's largest infrared countermeasure flares having a gross weight of ~1170 g. The cylindrical Magnesium/Teflon/Viton pellet has a net weight of ~1470 g. The Plans for a defensive systems upgrade program (DSUP) were canceled for budgetary reasons. The B-1 has also been equipped to carry the ALE-50 Towed Decoy System. The B-1 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 or 2.4 m²), although the Lancer is not substantially smaller in mass than the Stratofortress.
The B-1 Lancer 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 include the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb. 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.
