Key Points and Summary – The B-1B Lancer entered service as a nuclear-capable Cold War bomber, but it did not see combat until 1998.
-In the post-9/11 wars, the “Bone” became a star. During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom, just eight B-1Bs dropped nearly 40 percent of all coalition bomb tonnage, including 3,900 JDAMs.
B-1B Lancer Bomber. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
-In Iraq, they flew less than one percent of missions yet delivered 43 percent of JDAMs, even coming close to killing Saddam Hussein in a 2003 bunker strike.
-Converted fully to a conventional role and now gaining new external weapons pylons, the supersonic B-1B remains a key, highly adaptable strike platform.
The Air Force’s B-1B Lancer Bomber’s Combat Contributions to the Global War on Terror
There are three strategic bombers—aircraft that would have been termed “heavy bombers” back in World War II—in the U.S. Air Force arsenal. All of them have been in service since the Cold War.
They include the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, AKA the BUFF; the Northrop B-2 Spirit (the original stealth bomber); and the subject of this article, the Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bomber, AKA the “Bone.”
Though the B-1B made its maiden flight in prototype form in 1983—nine years after the B-1A—it wasn’t until December 1998, seven years after the Cold War ended, that the Bone first saw combat during Operation Desert Fox.
The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma,
is the largest depot repair complex in the Air Force. The Complex’s depot
Artisans perform award-winning program depot maintenance and modifications
on B-1 Lancer aircraft, supporting the sustainment of combat-ready
airpower. (U.S. Air Force photo/Gina Anderson)
But it was during the war in terror that the Lancer truly matured and came into its own as a devastating combat platform.
BONE Battle in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF])
As noted by the official U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet, “During the first six months of Operation Enduring Freedom [October 2001 to March 2002], eight B-1s dropped nearly 40 percent of the total tonnage delivered by coalition air forces. This included nearly 3,900 JDAMs [Joint Direct Attack Munitions], or 67 percent of the total.”
BONE Battle in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF])
Not content with helping to destroy al Qaeda and overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, it also contributed heavily to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein and his Ba’ath Party regime in Iraq. To cite the USAF Fact Sheet again, “In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the aircraft flew less than 1 percent of the combat missions while delivering 43 percent of the JDAMs used.”
Indeed, one particular B-1B bomber crew came within a hair’s breadth of bagging the Butcher of Baghdad himself.
Intelligence had received indications that Saddam and his sons Uday and Qusay were meeting in a hardened bunker underneath the four-star al-Saa restaurant located in the residential al-Mansour district, west of the Tigris.
The Bone’s “bunker buster” bombs (two of which had delayed fuses and were designed to explode deep underground) indeed obliterated the target, as noted in an April 9, 2003 article in The Times:
“Viewing the site late yesterday, it was impossible to believe that anyone had survived. The crater was 40ft deep and 150ft wide, and filled with smoking rubble, shredded furniture, ripped clothes and mangled iron beams.”
Yet survive Saddam and his sons did—they evidently got out of the bunker just before the strike.
Of course, we know this only postponed the inevitable, and all three of these goons are long dead.
As an amusing personal sidebar, this writer had the honor and pleasure of serving on the Threat Working Group (TWG) at Headquarters Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, during the first three years of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (I was a spry young lieutenant at the time.)
A few months into that assignment, we had a B-1B electronics warfare officer (EWO) join our staff. After the EWO introduced himself, our TWG director teased him good-naturedly with the wisecrack, “So you’re the ones that almost got Saddam!”
We all got a good laugh out of that one.
So, What Took It So Goshdarn Long?
Why did it take so long for the Lancer to go into combat?
Basically, it boils down to logistics.
The B-1B’s external hardpoints were designed for the “doomsday mission,” i.e., penetrating deep into the heart of Mother Russia and deploying nuclear cruise missiles.
However, these were decommissioned in 1994 under treaty agreements after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Thus began the rather belated conversion of the Bone to the conventional bombing role.
The B-1B Lancer’s Life After GWOT
In its present form, the Lancer packs a payload capacity of 75,000 pounds of ordnance.
Efforts to retire the B-1B have been only partially successful, as this mighty, venerable old warplane continues to prove herself adaptable to new weapon platforms. (I suppose it also helps that the Bone is the only member of the Air Force strategic bomber triumvirate that has supersonic speed.)
The Lancer is now being upgraded with a fancy weapons pylon known as the Load Adaptable Modular.
This will enable the Bone to carry up to 12 missiles externally by installing six of the pylons, piling on top of the 24 already carried in its internal weapon bays.
Boeing adds that the missiles would be of two types, namely boost-glide vehicles and air-breathing missiles.
The war on terror may be officially over, but the Bone keeps plugging away.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”
