The Americans retired the first of 17 B-1B Lancer strategic bombers scheduled for decommissioning this year. The United States intends to completely get rid of this type of aircraft by 2036.
The famous B-1B is one of three strategic bombers in the service of the US Air Force. And although this aircraft is much newer than the B-52 Stratofortress, Americans are more likely to talk about its decommissioning.
As reported Military.com, the first of the soon-to-be-decommissioned B-1B Lancer was "retired". This is only the first step of the US Air Force to get rid of 17 bombers in the coming months. Thus, the fleet of B-1B aircraft will soon be reduced to 45 units.
"We have been working for a long time on decommissioning the old bombers to make room for the B-21 Raider," said General Tim Ray, Commander — in-Chief of the US Air Force Global Strike Command. Recall that back in 2003, the US Air Force wrote off 33 B-1B aircraft. After modernization, the bomber received a conditional rebirth, remaining an important element of the security of the United States.
The reason why the US has started to get rid of the B-1B again is the price of service. It is also worth noting that the car was previously criticized because of the relatively low combat readiness compared to other US Air Force aircraft. According to the plans, the Americans want to completely get rid of the B-1B in 2036.
It is noteworthy that the B-1B was created as a replacement for the B-52 bomber, which made its first flight back in 1952. At the same time, as noted above, Stratofortress has every chance to survive the successor, remaining in service until the middle of the century. In addition, the B-52 can last longer than the "invisible" Northrop B-2 Spirit, the decommissioning of which is also periodically written by the media.
Boeing B-52 Stratofortress
Image source: wikipedia
The main strategic bomber of the US Air Force of the future should be the B-21 Raider, which in the distant future will replace all the "strategists" in the service of the US Air Force.
According to the latest data, the new aircraft should make its first flight no earlier than 2022. The car will be subsonic, made according to the aerodynamic scheme "flying wing" and externally similar to Spirit. The main difference from its predecessor is the lower price. At the same time, it is possible that the new aircraft will be able to carry fewer bombs and missiles than the B-2.
B-21 in the artist's view
Image Source: USAF
A similar path — the development of an analog of the B-2 Spirit — went to Russia. Recall that last year [...], the first prototype of the engine for the PAK DA bomber was manufactured.
