B-1 Lancer :Specification

MANUFACTURER: Rockwell International
CREW: 4 (2 pilots, 2 systems operators)
ENGINES: 4 General Electric F101-GEF102 turbofan
Max power: 30,000 Ib (13,620 kg)
static thrust each
Fuel capacity:196,600 Ib (89,176 kg)with bay tank214,000 Ib (97,069 kg)

WEIGHTS:
Empty: 192,000 Ib (87,090 kg)max Internal weapons load:75,000 Ib (34,019 kg)
Max external weapons load:
59,000 Ib (26,762 kg)
Max takeoff: 477,000 Ib (216,365 kg)

DIMENSIONS:
Wingspan extended: 136 ft 8Va in
(41.67 m) (15° sweep)67.5° sweep: 78 ft 2M> in(23.84 m)
Length: 147 ft (44.81 m)
Height: 34 ft (10.36m)
Wing area: 1,950 ft2 (181.2 m2)

PERFORMANCE:
Max speed at altitude: 717 kts (826mph; 1,329 km/h) orMach 1.25
at 500 ft (152m): 660 kts(760 mph; 1,223 km/h) or Mach 0.99
Cruise speed:at low altitude: 550 kts(633 mph; 1,019km/h) or Mach 0.83
Ceiling: 60,000 ft (18,300 m)
Combat radius:l,100nm (1,267 mi;
2,037 km)
Range max at high altitude:
5,600 nm (6,449 mi;10,377 km)
Low altitude: with 8 SRAMand 8 B-61 bombs:1,500 nm (1,727 mi;
2,780 km)
Armament: 2 internal weapons bays
for up to 42,000 Ib of ordnance, such as 84 Mk 82 500-lb bombs or 24Mk842,000-lb bombs or 12 B28 free-fall nuclear bombs or 24 B61/B83 free-fall nuclear bombs or 24 Short-Range Attack Missiles (SRAM) or 8 Air-Launched Cruise
Missiles (ALCM) and 8 hardpoints underfuselage for 14 ALCM or SRAM or8B28 or 4B43/B61/B83
nuclear or Mk 84 conventional bombs or 44 Mk 82
Radar:AN/APQ464 forwardlooking

B-1 Lancer :Overview

The B-l Lancer is the long-range strategic bomber designed originally for lowaltitude penetration missions against mobile ICBMs or standoff Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) attacks. 100 were procured in the early 1980s as a "bridge" in capability between the aging B-52 Stratofortress and the planned B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber (ATB or "Stealth").

B-1 Lancer :Characteristics

The B-1 Lancer features variable-geometry wings mounted at midfuselage. The wing pivot is located relatively close to the fuselage, which yields a large change in wing aspect ratio from its minimum sweep angle of 15° to the maximum sweep angle of 67 1/2°. As with several other "swing-wing" aircraft designs, the pivots and wing carry-through structure are titanium.

The outer panels are of more conventional aluminum-alloy construction. In addition to the low-sweep angle, takeoff and landing performance is aided by leading- and trailing-edge lift devices. Each leading edge has full-span slats in seven sections that drop 20° for takeoff. Each trailing edge is fitted with six single-slotted flap sections with a maximum down flap setting of 40°. Roll control is provided by four sections of spoilers on each wing; there are no ailerons.

The vertical tail is a relatively upright surface made of titanium and aluminum alloy. The three-section rudder is inset into the trailing edge with the lowest section set below the tailplane. Large, swept tailplanes are mounted on a common spindle that passes through the fin at a reinforced station approximately onethird up the fin. The tailplanes can be used differentially to aid roll control as well as collectively for pitch control. Four independent 4,000-psi (276-bar) hydraulic systems power the flight controls, flaps, landing-gear actuation, landing-gear doors, and weapons-bay doors. A quadruplex Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) is fitted. Ride control at low altitudes is provided by the Structural Mode Control Subsystem (SMCS) that uses accelerometers to dampen the rough ride at low altitude.

Two small, swept vanes are fitted at 30° anhedral in the lower fuselage just ahead of the cockpit; these work in conjunction with the lowest rudder section under command of the SMCS.

The B-1 B initially had little inherent stall warning, and its terrain-following performance had deteriorated due to the substantially higher gross weights compared to the B-1 A. A Stall Inhibitor System (SIS-1) was fitted to the first 18 aircraft to force the pilot to "fail-safe" by limiting his control system power near the B-lB's Angle of Attack (AoA) limits.

A later SIS-2 is a backup to the tripleredundant Stability Enhancement Function (SEF), which is designed to expand the AoA limits and permit Mach 0.95 speeds at max gross weight from sea level to about 6,000 ft (1,829 m) while retaining an adequate margin of controllability. In addition to reducing the necessary stall warning margin from 20% to 5% above aerodynamic stall, the SEF system has permitted successful automatic terrain-following flights at 200 ft (61 m) in a "hard-ride," hands-off mode. All B-l B's were retrofitted with the SIS-2/SEF system, with fully equipped B-l B's entering squadron service between January and April 1990.

Four General Electric turbofans are housed in pairs in nacelles under the wings. They are fed through fixedgeometry intakes that limit maximum speed to approximately Mach 1.25. Problems with the engine's first-stage compressor fan led to the Air Force's cessation of all B-l Lancer routine training flights in December 1990 until the source of the failures could be found. Internal fuel tankage is located in the fuselage midbody and in the outer wings. The in-flight refueling receptacle is fitted ahead of the cockpit.

The fuselage has a blended wing-body union similar to that of the F-16 Fighting Falcon. The B-l B's Radar Cross Section (RCS) that gives the plane its "stealthiness" is approximately ¥7 that of the FB-111A, Via of the B-1A, and VIM of the B-52. The small RCS is achieved through shaping and Radar-Absorbent Materials (RAM) used at many points on the airframe. Although much of the structure is aluminum alloy, titanium is used where high heat is generated (firewalls, engine bays) or high stress is expected (tail, rear fuselage skinning). The main landing gear was strengthened to accept the B-lB's higher gross weights; the two four-wheel bogies retract into the fuselage between the engine nacelles. The nose gear retracts forward.

The pressurized flight deck provides for two pilots and two weapons systems officers, each seated in his own Weber ACES II ejection seat. The pilots use control sticks rather than wheels and have the engine throttles on consoles to the left of each seat, which is said to enhance the aircraft's fighterlike feel. Instrument displays include vertical tape displays and Sperry Multifunction Displays (MFD).

Avionics are grouped under two main systems: the Boeing Offensive Avionics System (OAS) and Eaton-AIL AN/ALQ- 161 Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) suite; together the two suites account for over 197 Line Replaceable Units (LRU) weighing more than 10,000 Ib (4,536 kg). The main systems computers are linked through a MIL-STD-1553 databus.

The Westinghouse AN/APQ-164 dualchannel, multimode Offensive Radar System (ORS) is based on the F-16's APG-66 and is located in the nose. Additional OAS avionics include dual Honeywell AN/APN-224 radar altimeter systems, the Teledyne Ryan AN/APN-218 Doppler velocity sensor, and three Sperry MFDs, two for the offensive-weapons officer and one for the defensive-weapons officer. The Air Force plans to fit a Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) sensor.

The AN/ALQ-161 detects, classifies, and analyzes enemy emitters and develops passive and active responses to them. Three sets of phased-array antennas are fitted in the wing leading edges and the tail for high-frequency coverage while other antennas are distributed at several points of the fuselage. The ALQ-161 has suffered significant problems and has frequency gaps in its passive coverage. In January 1989, the Loral AN/ALR-56M radar-warning system was selected to fill in those gaps.

Internal weapons are carried in weapons bays ahead and behind the wing carry-through structure. The 31-ft 3-in (9.53-m), two-section forward bay has a movable bulkhead that allows stowage of eight extended-range AGM-86B Air- Launched Cruise Missiles (ALCM) on a Common Strategic Rotary Launcher (CSRL). The bays can also hold nuclear gravity bombs.

When converted to the conventional role, a special bomb-handling module is inserted into each bay. As a result, up to 84 Mk 82 500-pound conventional bombs can be carried. The Air Force would also like to carry CBU-87, CBU-89, and CBU-97 cluster munitions dispensers as well as Mk 56, Mk 62, and Mk 65 unguided weapons. Eight external-stores stations under the fuselage can hold additional weapons such as the Paveway Laser-Guided Bomb (LGB) series, the AGM-137 Tri-Service Standoff Missile (TSSAM), and possibly the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missile. Up to 24 GBU-10 2,000-lb (907-kg) LGBs can be carried at once.

B-1 Lancer :Development

The B-l B's initial operational capability was on October 1, 1986. The aircraft's first flight was a B-1 A on December 23,1974; the B-1 B first flew on March 23,1983. Four B-1 A prototypes were built in the mid-1970s and used for test and evaluation.

The Air Force had originally proposed a force of 244 B-l's to replace the entire B-52 force. Production was approved on December 2, 1976, but the Carter administration entered office a month later, and in June 1977, die entire program was canceled in favor of the development of the Air-Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) and modernization of the B-52 force as an alternative.

The manned bomber became an issue in the 1980 presidential campaign. In August 1980, to help justify the decision to cancel the B-l, then Secretary of Defense Harold Brown announced that the US was in fact developing a new bomber in secret, the "Stealth" aircraft (later called the B-2 Advanced Technology Bomber or ATB). The Reagan administration, which took office in January 1981, gave immediate support to the B-l program (reportedly based on successful test flights that demonstrated the upgraded bomber's stealthier qualities), and gained congressional funding.

A crash in September 1987 and two crashes in November 1988 reduced the number in service to 97. The last aircraft was delivered on April 30, 1988. The name Lancer was officially adopted in 1990 after permission had been granted from Fairchild Republic to use the nickname, which in 1941 was assigned to the P-43 fighter, an underpowered predecessor of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt. Air Force personnel reportedly never refer to the B-l as the Lancer, choosing instead to call it the Bone ("B-One").

As part of the overall reduction in active US nuclear weapons, President George Bush announced that all US strategic bombers were taken off 24-hour strip alert and their nuclear weapons put in storage.

A B-1 B unofficially set several flight records in early July 1987. While carrying 33 tons of water as ballast, the aircraft averaged 676.48 mph on a 620-mile (1,000-km) course, and 669.52 mph on a 1,240-mile (2,000-km) circuit. The previous records for that weight/ speed/distance were set, respectively, in 1959 by a Soviet bomber and in 1962 by a US Air Force C-135 transport. The B-l set 12 time-to-climb records in three weight classes on February 29, 1992.

B-1 Lancer :Variants

B-1A, B-1B.

B-1 R: The B-1 R is a proposed replacement for the B-1 B fleet. Boeing's director of global strike integration, Rich Parke, was first quoted about the "B-1 R" bomber in Air Force Magazine. Parke said the B-1 R (R stands for "regional") would be a Lancer with advanced radars, air-to-air missiles, and Pratt & Whitney F119 engines (originally developed for the F-22 Raptor). Its new top speed — Mach 2.2 — would be purchased at the price of a 20% reduction of the B-1 B's combat range. This proposal would involve modifying existing aircraft. The FB-22 and YF-23 are alternative proposals. The B-2 has proven itself in the "limited strike" role, able to penetrate any current air defense system and deliver conventional bombs with impunity. The role of "fleet in being" is ably served, and there appears to be no reason to maintain the B-52s for this purpose alone. This leaves the "bomb truck" duty as the B-52's primary role that is not currently filled by other aircraft. Other changes in the nature of modern air warfare have also come into play. Missiles like the AIM-120 and AIM-9X so improve on older designs that the primary determinant of air combat success appears to be having the best radars and display systems – the aircraft that can detect, lock-on and shoot first will almost certainly win an engagement, even, to a limited degree, against aircraft behind it. The idea of a "missile truck" for air-to-air combat has long been a dream of fighter designers, notably in the U.S. Navy, but these designs were always found to be seriously flawed when the missiles turned out to have disappointing real-world performance compared to their paper predictions. This era appears to be at an end, and the concept of a long-range heavy missile-firing air-to-air platform appears to be a practical possibility, even for a large and unmaneuverable aircraft. B-1 R concept. Boeing's proposal appears to modify the B-1 B into a design able to serve these two purposes. For the bomb-truck role Boeing proposes the modification of existing external hardpoints to allow them to carry multiple conventional warheads, dramatically improving overall warload. For the air-to-air role, both defensive and offensive, they propose to add active electronically-scanned array radar and allow some of the hardpoints to carry AA missiles. Even with its somewhat reduced range as compared to the original B-1 B, its fuel capacity remains quite large. This would allow it to escape from unfavorable air-to-air encounters by simply running away; there are few enough aircraft capable of Mach 2.2 performance in general, and those that are deployed can maintain these speeds for very short periods of time. In general terms the B-1 R most closely resembles the original F-111 concept, as opposed to a pure bomber role. However it would be able to carry out these missions at ranges even greater than the F-111.

B-1 Lancer :Combat Experience

During the deployment of US weapons for Operation Desert Storm in February 1991, the potential role of the B-l Lancer was debated, but the aircraft was held out of the conflict. The Air Force gave two official reasons for the B-l not being used: because there were not enough available to significantly contribute to the effort without degrading strategic deterrence and because the B-l Lancer simply wasn't operationally prepared to deploy with conventional arms.