While the Air Force has not specified a timetable, the B-1 is not likely to be fully retired until the 2030s or later depending upon the service’s B-21 production capacity. That means a smaller fleet.
The timing of just how fast and steadily new B-21s arrive continues to bear heavily upon current Air Force decisions regarding the pace and scope of B-1 retirement.
US Air Force/Airman Jonah Fronk
The Air Force is divesting B-1B bombers, aiming to retire the fleet by the end of the 2030s.
The bombers are considered the workhorse of the Air Force today.
At least one of the outgoing bombers will find new life as a lab to help keep other B-1s flying.
In February, the Air Force announced that it will begin retiring the B-1B Lancer from service by divesting 17 bombers from the fleet of 62.
The divestment is being done to cut costs, streamline modernization and maintenance for other aircraft, and prepare for the introduction of the Air Force s future B-21 Raider bomber.
This may be the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber s first outdoor hangar Oriana Pawlyk , Northrop Grumman/US Air Force
The Air Force has built a prototype shelter for the new B-21 bomber at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
It is one of a few mock-ups that the service is testing to find the most effective and affordable option for the bomber.
The US Air Force has begun constructing prototype shelters in anticipation of someday housing its next-generation bomber, B-21 Raider.
The service has erected a temporary prototype Environmental Protection Shelter at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, one of a few mock-up models that Air Force Global Strike Command and the B-21 Program Office are testing to find the most effective and affordable option for the Long Range Strike Bomber, according to release.
US Air Force
This week, those bombers trained with troops on the ground to conduct close air support.
The deployment, and increased Arctic activity in general, comes amid high tensions between NATO and Russia.
US Air Force B-1B Lancer bombers that deployed to Norway in late February have already demonstrated their reach in the air around Europe, and this week they tested their ability to put bombs on target in new surroundings.
On March 8, a bomber conducted Joint Terminal Attack Controller training with US Navy SEALs, US Marines, and Norwegian soldiers near Setermoen in the Norwegian Arctic.
JTACs, as they re known, direct aircraft during close-air-support missions. For this training, US and Norwegian JTACs took position on top of a mountain and quickly established communications with the bomber to call in targets, a Marine Corps release said.