US grounds ENTIRE fleet of 45 B1-B bombers after problem found with afterburner
The B1 is one of three U.S. Air Force bombers, alongside B-2s and B-52s Of 140 bombers in the USAF, 45 of them are B1-Bs, according to Flight Global On April 8 a large hole was seen in filter housing, forcing grounding of the fleet The B1s, first flying under Ronald Reagan, are due to be phased out by 2030 The supersonic planes were used heavily in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq There have been concerns in recent years about the exhausted fleet In 2019 Congress was warned the USAF was 'beating the heck out of them' It was unclear when the B1s would be returned to fighting fitness
Source: dailymail.co.uk