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A B-1B in bare metal takes off for a check flight as part of a process to unretire the aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force has revived a retired Rockwell B-1B Lancer as it reversed its long-term plan for the swept-wing bomber fleet.
The service announced May 6 that a B-1B retired in 2021 and sent to the “boneyard” at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, has returned to flight after an extensive regeneration effort at Tinker AFB, Oklahoma. The intensive process required more than 500 components on the aircraft to be replaced, along with system overhauls and structural repairs, a May 6 Air Force Material Command release said. The bomber flew in a bare-metal configuration for check flights before being painted and sent to its operational base at Dyess AFB, Texas.
The service in its fiscal 2027 budget request outlined new plans for the Lancer fleet after it was expected to be retired. The Air Force is requesting $146.9 million in research, development, test and evaluation funding for modifications to the fleet to include continuing installation of external pylons, hybrid satellite communications, resilient precision navigation and timing to include M-code GPS, advanced high frequency integration and other modifications.
The Air Force now expects its 44-bomber fleet to fly until 2037.
“Following the reversal of its planned retirement, the B-1B’s role as the backbone of America’s long-range conventional strike force is more critical than ever,” budget justification documents say.
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