Posted on 12/31/2015 2:43:22 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
The huge swing-wing airplane is nothing if not flexible — canceled, revived, converted from nuclear strike plane to conventional bomber and then to flying arsenal for the GPS-guided bombs on which ground troops fighting for their lives in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Syria often rely.
And if the U.S. Air Force’s supersonic B-1 bomber is one other thing, it’s misunderstood.
It’s no secret that the B-1 bomber, officially called the Lancer but known to its four-man crews as the “Bone†(they proudly call themselves “Bone-driversâ€), had a troubled early life. Canceled by President Jimmy Carter and revived by successor Ronald Reagan, the B-1 underwent sweeping redesigns before it reached Air Force crews in the mid-1980s — and even then, the revamped airplane suffered a string of high-profile malfunctions and crashes. Not until 1998, three decades after the distinctive swing-wing bomber was first designed, did the B-1 first drop bombs on enemy targets in Iraq.
In public forums, the B-1 has often been a punch line. A glowing New York Times feature earlier this month on the B-1’s older, slower brother, the gangly B-52, highlighted the tribulations of the supersonic bomber’s development, comparing it unfavorably to the reliable B-52 of “Dr. Strangelove†fame, which has been in uninterrupted service since the 1950s.
And during a Senate hearing last year, Sen. John McCain pushed back hard on Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James’s description of the B-1 as an effective airplane for “close air support,†or the delivery of precision-guided bombs in support of embattled ground troops. “That’s a remarkable statement,†McCain scoffed. “That doesn’t comport with any experience I’ve ever had, nor anyone I know has ever had.â€
What McCain didn’t seem to be aware of, and what the Times report failed to note, is the long third act
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
“ “Myra Belle “Sally†Miller — the 195â€8 Miss Arkansâ€as who said in 19â€92 that she had â€had an affair with Clinâ€ton in 1983. â€She claimed†that she†had been â€warned noâ€t to go public by a Demoâ€cratic†Party official: “They knew that I went joggâ€ing by myself and he couldn’t guarâ€antee what would happen to my prâ€etty little legs.†“
Into this:
"Myra Belle "Sally" Miller -- the 1958 Miss Arkansas who said in 1992 that she had had an affair with Clinton in 1983. She claimed that she had been warned not to go public by a Democratic Party official: "They knew that I went jogging by myself and he couldn't guarantee what would happen to my pretty little legs."
Real easy here:
I miss the B1s in Wichita.
One of the loudest objects on earth is a B1 taking off on full afterburner.
Can easily hear it ten miles away.
THANKS for that link......
Agree.
I took my vacation 2 summers to teach GROL License exam review courses at Dyess. They were night classes and when the electronics techs got ready we would take a smoke break (I don’t smoke) and go outside the building. It was an awesome experience seeing night take-offs, not just the noise, but the shear vibration from those powerful engines.
They quit having the classes when so many of them were deployed. They were a great bunch of guys, I really enjoyed teaching those classes.
Back in Late August of 1990, I videotaped a full-afterburner departure of a B-1 after an air show at our local ANG base. The sound was so loud that it affected the auto-focus on the camcorder to the extent that upon playback, the footage goes in and out of focus for the first 20-30 seconds.
Its amazing isn’t it?
I moved from Martin satellite launch job to Rockwell early 80s. I was to manage a project to launch the new small ICBM from the B1 or another design called grasshopper.
They selected silo launch again. So I was stuck doing annual R&D report publication. Moved again to manage General Dynamics LA office.
The film clip of “close air support” is not anywhere close to being “close”.
Try the other side of the valley and up the mountain a ways.
McLame.....trying to screw things up, as per usual!
Not as loud as 2 F4H Phantoms on afterburner, 50 yards away and me with the mother of all hangovers.
One need only watch this video below of a B-1 strike in Afghanistan's ultra-violent Pech valley, and listen to the profanity-laden commentary of the ground troops doing the filming, to get a sense of the role the big bomber played supporting troops in contact in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
The video - Afghanistan War: RAW VIDEO B1 Bomber Strikes direct hit's on Taliban Positions Afghanistan
Cool tool. Thanks for the link.
There are some clips of the same kind of reaction when an A-10 would show up. Their side knew they were deep in the doo-doo whenever one of the Warthogs came rumbling over the ridge. And all the American supported troops knew they were going to get out all right.
per unit cost
A-10 Warthog: $13M
B1-B Lancer: $283M
No wonder the military industrial complex hates the A-10.
Got to see one at Ellsworth. Beautiful side to see. However in my heart I still feel something for the BUFF’s.
Or FR could simply fix the problem with a few lines of code.
” Canceled by President Jimmy Carter and revived by successor Ronald Reagan,”
(Many) People really don’t realize how bad of a President Jimmy Carter really was.
Aesthetically second only to the Blackbird IMHO.
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