B-1s to all be retired?

[viking73]

Caught this link via Aviation Week:

http://defensetech.org/2010/06/24/b-1b- ... -boneyard/

It says there is a proposal to retire the entire B-1 fleet. Nothing about the BUFFs though...!

-Derek

[tom d. friedman]

the b-1 is more cost affective than the b-2. aside from iran, north korea & a few satellite maniac nations messing with us.... the b-2 is over qualified in terms of technology & the times of the current world situation.. ole peanut head president "jimma" carter held up progress for the b-1 by shelving the project during his menstruation.... oops !!!!uhh.... administration, sorry!! if we would have kept the b-1 project going over 30 years ago we would have better technology upgrades that would fill the bill for 1 heck of alot less than the b-2. heck the b-52 is still pulling it's weight for the same reason!! most of us are younger than the existing 52's!! do the math!!

[spriso]

They were very busy rebuilding a bunch of B-1s when I visited the boneyard earlier this year:

Parked B-1s (note 'canvas' cockpit covers!):



This one was almost completely stripped on the ramp:



Another one up on blocks:





Four freshly repainted B-1s on the ramp (with F-4 drones in the foreground!):



-Michael

[Randy Haskin]

aside from iran, north korea & a few satellite maniac nations messing with us.... the b-2 is over qualified in terms of technology & the times of the current world situation..

1. What technology, specifically, are you referring to? Apparently you're not concerned with any of the S-300 (or better) Russian SAMs that have been sold and deployed all over the world to many countries other than the "few" you mention. Unfortunately, the USAF is concerned with those pieces of the IADS -- which the B-2 was designed to be "qualified" to work amongst, and the B-1 doesn't stand a chance in.

2. I'd rather be "over qualified" going into battle than anything else, any day of the week. Equal terms is no way to go into combat if you value winning and/or coming home intact rather than in a flag-draped coffin. Perhaps if it were your pink butt riding a piece of aluminum into battle, you might feel differently, too.

[tom d. friedman]

randy, my tushy is not pink, the 48 year old hair has taken care of that!!! ok ok.... to much sharing!!! my only point is that i feel the b-2 is over kill because were not fighting a declared nation, but a fanatical terrorist faction w/ no air force other than their rpgs. even the biggest bombs can't penetrate the mole holes those s.o.b.'s have dug. it's uncanny.......... we used to be able to put the whoop ass on consistently, but since vietnam we seem to always fight somebody with no uniform, nor any national identity. terrorists period, i fail to see such an expensive weapon such as the b-2's usefullness, while the b-1 can do the job for much less. heck!! your f-15 is more capable & even cheaper to utilize!!

[hercules130]

Hurts to see the BONE become one.

[bdk]

...we used to be able to put the whoop ass on consistently, but since vietnam we seem to always fight somebody with no uniform, nor any national identity.

Maybe that's the reason nobody is willing to fight us head-on? The only way to fight us more or less successfully is through insurgency and test the resolution of our weasel politicians.