Manufactured by Rockwell, the B-1 Lancer bomber, affectionately known as the ‘Bone’ is a four engine supersonic aircraft with variable swept wings. The B-1 was originally thought to be a replacement for the B-52 Stratofortress. It entered service in 1986 as a nuclear bomber but has been widely used in a conventional role.

Watch as a B-1 takes off in full afterburner at twilight

There have been 100 B-1B bombers built at an estimated cost of $280 million each. Rockwell sold their defense and aerospace business to Boeing 1996.

Who can tell us why the B-1 is called the ‘bone’? Comment below.

General characteristics

Crew: 4 (aircraft commander, copilot, offensive systems officer, and defensive systems officer)
Payload: 125,000 lb
Length: 146 ft
Wingspan:
Extended: 137 ft
Swept: 79 ft
Height: 34 ft
Max. takeoff weight: 477,000 lb
Powerplant: 4 × General Electric F101-GE-102 augmented turbofans
Dry thrust: 17,390 lbf each
Thrust with afterburner: 30,780 lbf each

Performance

Maximum speed:
At altitude: Mach 1.25
At low level: Mach 0.92
Range: 5,100 nmi
Service ceiling: 60,000 ft

Featured image of US Air Force B-1B Lancer flying over northern Iraq after conducting airstrikes in Syria against ISIL targets, Sept. 27, 2014. Photo by Senior Airman Matthew Bruch, US Air Force