The bomber is one of four temporarily based in Norway, where it s exercising with NATO and Swedish air forces.
A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer bomber made history last week when it landed at a remote air base north of the Arctic Circle. The bomber, flying with an escort of four Swedish Gripen fighters, touched down at Norway s Bodø Air Station for refueling before departing again. The layover marked the farthest north the B-1B has ever operated.
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The bomber, nicknamed
Dark Knight of the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Wing, conducted a warm pit refuel at Bodø, a process that allows the crew to remain in the cockpit as the plane is gassed up, according to
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.
By
Chyrine Mezher on February 15, 2021 at 4:46 PM
A Rafale Right Fighter Jet Taking the Skies (Dassault Aviation)
BEIRUT: With potential French Rafale jet sales to Egypt and the UAE in the works, one crucial issue arises, especially in the face of the Iranian threat: can they share data with the American fighters that pervade so much of the region.
Some experts think that data sharing is quite challenging while others don’t see eye to eye.
Bilal Saab, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute and former Pentagon official in charge of Middle Eastern security cooperation, says that the more platforms you operate, the harder integration and interoperability becomes with American systems.
S.Korea’s FA-50 Jet Completes Tests with Sniper Targeting Pod Our Bureau 1970
FA-50 jet @KAI
Lockheed Martin’s Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) just successfully completed ground and flight testing, clearing the way for FA-50 airworthiness certification.
The tests resulted in a successful long-range guided munition hit of a designated target, the company announced.
The FA-50 light combat aircraft is manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries, LTD., in partnership with Lockheed Martin.
Passing the initial physical fit check in September 2019, this last wave of testing assessed the aircraft’s interaction with the Sniper pilot vehicle interface (PVI) and pod-specific features.
B-1B bomber carries, launches missile externally for first time, Air Force says
By (0) A B-1B Lancer releases a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile during an external release demonstration over Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., on Dec. 4. Photo by Ethan Wagner/U.S. Air Force A crew uploads a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile to an external pylon on a B-1B Lancer at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., for a demonstration of the missile over Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., on Dec. 4. Photo by Joshua Miller/U.S. Air Force
Dec. 14 (UPI) A test of a B-1B Lancer bomber demonstrated the plane s ability to carry and launch missiles externally, the U.S. Air Force said on Monday.