The B-1B’s role in America’s military arsenal has been more of an odyssey than others. Here's What You Need to Know: From nuclear bomber to missile carrier, the supersonic bomber has been flexible enough to adapt to a changing strategic environment. Like many warplanes since the end of the Cold War, the B-1B bomber’s role in American airpower has changed to embrace new missions. Unlike other planes, the B-1’s mission changed even before the first aircraft took off. What started as a high-altitude, high-speed nuclear-penetration bomber has evolved into today’s all-purpose nonnuclear attack aircraft, a jack-of-all-trades with a huge carrying capacity for bombs and air-to-ground missiles.