B1B Lancer

First Flight: October 18, 1984

North American Aircraft (now part of Boeing), produced 100 B-1B aircraft for the U.S. Air Force in the 1980s. Cost of the total 100-aircraft program, which included funding for other contractors as well as the funds the Government expended itself, was capped at $20.5 billion (FY 81) by President Reagan in a certification to the U.S. Congress. The first B-1B aircraft was delivered to the Air Force at Edwards AFB, California, in October 1984, just 33 months after contract go-ahead.

Initial delivery to the Strategic Air Command took place in June 1985 at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. On October 1, 1986, the B-1B achieved Initial Operational Capability and by November 1986, B-1Bs were coming off the production line at a rate of four per month.

General Characteristics
Primary Function: Long-range, multi-role, heavy bomber
Builder: Rockwell International, North American Aircraft (now The Boeing Company)
Power Plant: Four General Electric F-101-GE-102 turbofan engines with afterburner
Thrust: 30,000-plus pounds with afterburner, per engine
Length: 146 feet (44.5 meters)
Wingspan: 137 feet (41.8 meters) extended forward, 79 feet (24.1 meters) swept aft
Height: 34 feet (10.4 meters)
Weight: Empty, approximately 190,000 pounds (86,183 kilograms)
Maximum Takeoff Weight: 477,000 pounds ((216,634 kilograms)
Speed: 900-plus mph (Mach 1.2 at sea level)
Range: Intercontinental, unrefueled
Ceiling: More than 30,000 feet (9,144 meters)
Crew: Four (aircraft commander, pilot, offensive systems officer and defensive systems officer)
Armament: Up to 84 Mark 82 conventional 500-pound bombs, or 30 CBU-87/89/97, or 24 JDAMS.
Date Deployed: June 1985
Unit Cost: $200-plus million per aircraft