Washington. December 11. INTERFAX - The US Air Force will have to keep 45 B-1B Lancer strategic bombers in its combat composition and not write off any more units before they are replaced by B-21 Raider aircraft, it follows from the materials of the Congress.
As part of a compromise bill on defense policy approved this week by the House of Representatives, which will soon be considered by the Senate, the Air Force is not allowed to continue reducing the fleet of technically worn-out B-1B Lancer. The exception is the parts that will begin to receive new B21 Raider strategic bombers for replacement. It is planned that this ban will last at least until the end of September 2023.
Northrop Grumman Corporation built the first five prototype B-21s. It is expected that they will begin to enter service in the mid-2020s. This means that the B-1B fleet will remain at the current level of 45 aircraft in the near future.
According to the US military, in recent decades, B-1Bs have been actively used in combat operations in the Middle East, which has led their fleet to great technical wear and tear. In 2022, the US Air Force has already written off 17 of the most worn-out aircraft to allow maintenance personnel to focus on maintaining the remaining bombers.
Most of the decommissioned B-1Bs were sent to Davis-Monthan Air Base in the Arizona desert, where the largest fleet of aircraft in the world is being preserved.
