Rockwell B-1B Lancer #1
by Arthur Eggers
Title
Rockwell B-1B Lancer #1
Artist
Arthur Eggers
Medium
Digital Art - Color Print
Description
The host unit at Ellsworth is the 28th Bomb Wing (28 BW) assigned to the Air Combat Command Twelfth Air Force. The 28 BW is one of only two B-1B Lancer strategic bomber wings in the United States Air Force. The initial B-1A version was developed in the early 1970s, but its production was canceled, and only four prototypes were built. The need for a new platform once again surfaced in the early 1980s, and the aircraft resurfaced as the B-1B version with the focus on low-level penetration bombing. In the 1990s, the B-1B was converted to conventional bombing use. It first served in combat during Operation Desert Fox in 1998 and again during the NATO action in Kosovo the following year. The B-1B has supported U.S. and NATO military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The B-1 received the official name "Lancer" on 15 March 1990. However, the bomber has been commonly called the "Bone". Of the 100 B-1Bs built, 93 remained in 2000. The USAF had 65 B-1Bs in service in September 2010, split between four squadrons organized into two Bomb Wings: the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Texas, and the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. With upgrades to keep the B-1 viable, the Air Force may keep the bomber in service until approximately 2038.
Uploaded
February 24th, 2014
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