The US Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) completed, last Thursday (23), the retirement of 17 Rockwell B-1B Lancer supersonic bombers, announced last year.
On Thursday, the B-1B registration 85-0074 took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, bound for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, where it will be stored in the infamous "Airplane Graveyard" in the desert for the 309th Aerospace Regeneration and Maintenance Group. The first B-1 was withdrawn from the fleet in February.
The USAF, through the AFGSC, decided to retire 17 aircraft, reducing the number of active aircraft from 62 to 45. Of the 17 retired bombers, one was sent to Tinker Air Force Base (Oklahoma) as a prototype for structural repair services; another went to Edwards to be used in ground tests; another went to Barksdale Air Force Base (Louisiana), where it will be preserved at the Barksdale Global Power Museum, and one was sent to serve as an object of study at Wichita State University.
“The divestment plan was executed without problems”, said Brig. Gen. Kenyon Bell, AFGSC Director of Logistics and Engineering. “With fewer aircraft in the fleet, specialists will be able to give more time and attention to each remaining aircraft in the fleet.”
The other 13 remaining aircraft will be shipped to Arizona, where they will be stored in the desert by the 309th AMARG. Four planes will be reserved in Type 2000 storage, where they receive more care and can be returned to service at a certain time, while being cannibalized. The others will be from Type 4000 storage. Here, the oldest and most worn-out aircraft in the fleet are completely dismantled and cannibalized.
According to AFGSC, withdrawing the aircraft did not affect force lethality or any associated maintenance manpower, and allowed officers to focus depot-level maintenance and manpower on the remaining aircraft, increasing readiness and paving the way for modernization of the bomber fleet to meet future challenges.
The retirement of the planes also prepares the USAF to receive its new stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider. Northrop-Grumman is producing five prototypes of the new stealth aircraft. By retiring these aircraft now, the AFGSC can focus on prioritizing the health of the current fleet, including modernization efforts, to make the bomber fleet more lethal and capable overall, added Bell.
“Starting to retire these bombers allows us to pave the way for the B-21 Raider”, said General Bell. “Ongoing operations over the past 20 years have taken a toll on our B-1B fleet, and the aircraft we retired would have cost between $10 million and $30 million per aircraft to return to a status quo fleet in the short term until the arrival of the B-21B. -XNUMX.”
