The famous B-1B is one of the three strategic bombers in the service of the US Air Force. And although this plane is much newer than the B-52 Stratofortress, Americans are more often talking about its output.
According to Military.com, the first of the B-1B Lancer scheduled for the write-off will be sent "retired". This is just the first step of the US Air Force on the way of getting rid of 17 bombers in the coming months. Thus, the B-1B aircraft fleet will soon be reduced to 45 units.
"We have been working on the conclusion from the operation of old bombers to make room for the B-21 Raider," said the commander-in-chief of the US Air Force (Air Force Global Strike Command) General Tim Ray. Recall, in 2003, the US Air Force was written off 33 B-1B aircraft. After modernization, the bomber received a conditional second birth, remaining an important element of the United States security.
The reason why the United States began to get rid of B-1B, in the price of maintenance. It is also worth noting that earlier the car was criticized due to relatively low against the background of other US Air Force aircraft. According to the plans, the Americans want to get rid of B-1B in 2036.
It is noteworthy that the B-1B was created as a replacement for the B-52 bombard, which made the first flight in the distance in 1952. At the same time, as noted above, Stratofortress has every chance of surviving the successor, staying in the service until the middle of the century. In addition, B-52 can serve the longer "invisible" Northrop B-2 Spirit, about the withdrawal of which is also periodically writing media.
The main strategic bombarder of the United States Air Force of the future should be the B-21 Raider, which in the remote future will be replaced by all the "strategists" in the service of the American Air Force.
According to the latest data, the new aircraft must make the first flight not earlier than 2022. The machine will be a dialing, made according to the aerodynamic scheme "Flying Wing" and externally similar to Spirit. The main difference from the predecessor is a lower price. At the same time, perhaps a new aircraft will be able to carry less bombs and rockets than B-2.
Similarly, the development of an analogue of B-2 Spirit - Russia went. Recall, last year made the first prototype of the engine for the bomber Pak yes.
Source: Naked Science