The Rockwell B1-B is one bad Jose of an airplane and it he delivered more than its fair share of bad news to the bad guys over the years since first coming into service in the mid-1980s. We have a cool 1987 promotional film for the Rockwell B1-B here and we think you will dig it.
First designed in the 1970s the B1-A was going to be a replacement for the B-52 which was the cornerstone of the bombing wing of the Air Force. For a few reasons that program was stopped after a couple of B1-A prototypes were finished in the 70s. Fast forward to the late 1970s/early 1980s and the program cranks up again with slightly adjusted goals and instead of the goal being to replace the B-52 the new goal was to build a plane that supplemented that venerable craft’s role.
The B1-B first saw combat in 1998 and the have done everything that designers wanted them to do. With the ability to track and hit multiple moving targets, the ability to carry more ordinance than a B-52, and a top speed of Mach 1.2 at seal level, it can make a big mess and leave in a big hurry. During the opening stages of Operation Enduring Freedom, eight B1s were responsible for dropping nearly half of all the bombs on the bad guys. That includes nearly 4,000 JDAMs.
While this film is nearly 30 years old, know that the star of the show is still patrolling the skies and bringing the noise when called upon.
Speaking of noise, we see lots of these planes taking off from Nellis when we are at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and when they leave with the burners lit, the Earth shakes.
The time in my aerospace career I was most proud of. Spent about 8 years on the B-1B program at Rockwell. I love The Bone!
I can remember going to an air show at Van Nuys Airport (Los Angeles) and The Bone did a fly by with the wings in delta position. Never have I’ve ever felt so proud to be an American.