CENTCOM:B-1B Lancers Participated in Retaliatory Raids - plus what radio experts revealed about their mission

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bombers participated in retaliatory raids against Iranian Republican Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and afiiliated miltia groups in Iraq and Syria.Both Iraq and Syria denounced the raids which they said amounted to aggression.Beginning on 2 February 2024,radio experts ascertained that B-1Bs were on the move.The bombers are out of Dyess Air Force Base,Texas.The Lancer bombers communicate via a UHF satellite,and one is able to piece the puzzle together based on snippets of information from these communications only an expert can put together.* The experts ascertained that the 2-3 B-1Bs were refueled over Nova Scotia,Canada by KC-135 Stratotankers.They then proceeded across the Atlantic Ocean until they reached Spain,where the were again refueled by KC-135s out of the UK.Air Force Global Strike Command deploys B-1Bs as needed.For this mission,the bombers were to fire precision cruisse missiles at seven sites and across 85 targets in Iraq and Syria.They typically carry up to 24 Northrop Grumman AGM-158B JASSEM-ER subsonic cruise missiles.Their targets included command centres;drone and rocket arsenals;and thier production facilities.Thermal images of the target guide these missiles with an acccuracy of less than 9.8 ft. from the targets.The warheads can strike on impact,be set for delayed impact or set to splinter into fragments.Dozens of militants were reportedly killed in the raids.*The Department of Defense will continue to strike militants at a time and place of their choosing.* The original builder of the B-1B,Rockwell,became part of Rockwell Collins,which again morphed into Collins Aerospace,now a subsidiary of Raytheon Corporation.*Northrop Grumman (NOC),Raytheon Corporation (RTX)

Images of US Air Force's new B-21 Raider stealth bomber on its first flight on 10 November 2023

A brief film of the undisclosed first flight is followed by stills and earlier footage of the unveiling.The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider was escorted by a Lockheed Martin F-16 Fighting Falcon.A Reuters journalist was monitoring the activity at the Palmdale,California Plant 42 facility in the Mojave Desert.Plant 42 is owned by the US Air Force and operated as a component of nearby Edwards Air Force Base.It is a Government-Owned,Contractor-Operated facility (GOCO).Besides developing classified aircraft,it also services existing aircraft such as the B-2 Spirit strategic bomber.Lockheed Martin (LMT),Northrop Grumman (NOC)

U.S. Air Force, NATO. B-1B Lancer bombers fly combat missions from the UK.Posted 1 November 2023.

RAF base or bases were not disclosed.Combat mission:a mission to capture or defend something.

USAF, NATO. Powerful B-1B Lancer strategic bombers have arrived in the UK RAF Fairford,England

B-1B strategic bombers arrived at RAF Fairford,England.They are out of Dyess Air Force Base,Texas and are on a Bomber Task Force mission,set to interoperate with NATO Allies and partners throughout the European theatre,enhancing Deterrence and Defence.

US Air Force, NATO. B-2 Spirit strategic stealth bombers on alert in Iceland

Game-Changer:B-21 Raider To Break New Ground in Deep Strike

The US Air Force intends to develop a sixth generation,long-range fighter jet to escort the new B-21 Raider strategic nuclear-capable bomber deep into enemy territory.The fighter is called "Penetrating Counter-Air" and is to assist the B-21 in supression of enemy air defences.* The B-21,which has a flying wing design similar to the B-2 Spirit bomber,is a subsonic aircraft,that is,flying slower than the speed of sound (Mach 1 is the point that is just beyond the speed of sound).The speed of sound varies depending on air temperature and other atmospheric conditions.The Raider is subsonic because of its large payload capacity of a mix of nuclear and conventional ordnance.It can deliver both the B61-12 tactical nuclear weapon as well as the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) nuclear cruise missile.With its advanced stealth design features and NextGen radar-absorbent coatings,lead contractor Northrop Grumman considers it the most advanced military aircraft ever built.So it will be capable of penetrating the toughest defences to deliver precision strikes in Anti-Access/Area Denial zones.* Six B-21s are currently in various stages of production in Palmdale,California.One of them is scheduled for unveiling to an invited audience in early December 2022,with first flight in early 2023.The Air Force Global Strike Command plans to acquire at least 100 B-21s,though the number may eventually reach about 200.Initial Operating Capability should come in the mid-2020s.Ellsworth Air Force Base,South Dakota is the preferred basing location for the first B-21 main operating base and formal training unit,with Dyess AFB,Texas as an alternate.The Air Force plans to retire the B-2 Spirit and B-1B Lancer bombers first as the B-21 comes online,with the B-52H Stratofortress remaining in service alongside the B-21 till mid-century.* Advanced software development techniques called DevStar will enable the upgrading of the Raider at the speed of relevance,incrementally adding warfighting capablities as opposed to the current massive Block approach.The B-21 will be able to rapidly field capability enhancements to both hardware and software,with enough processing power to quickly process information from onboard sensors and external sources for threat detection.Digital design and engineering make it possible to incrementally improve B-21 characteristics on a continuous basis.Suffice it to say,it is like nothing else ever seen before on the flight line. For example,the Raider will have minimum aircraft signatures in multiple frequency bands.* Subcontractors of the B-21 include Pratt and Whitney (Raytheon Technologies subsidiary);BAE Systems;Collins Aerospace (Raytheon Technologies subsidiary) and Spirit AeroSystems.* BAE Systems ADR (OTC:BAESY),Northrop Grumman (NOC),Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX),Spirit Aerosystems Holdings Inc (SPR)

Pacific Perspective:B-2 Bombers to RAAF Amberley

On 10 July 2022,two B-2 Spirit strategic nuclear-capable bombers arrived at Royal Australian Air Force Amberley near Brisbane,Australia in support of a U.S. Pacific Air Forces Bomber Task Force deployment.The BTF manifests the Force Posture Agreement between the US and Australia,USPACAF said.By conducting training missions and strategic deterrence missions with Allies,Partners and Joint Forces,the cause of a free and open Indo-Pacific Region will be advanced.The B-2 deployment demonstrates and enhances the readiness and lethality of our long-range penetrating strike force,according to Lt.Col. Andrew Kousgaard,Commander 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron,the squadron which dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.This deployment also implements the National Defense Strategy's objectives of strategic predictability and operational unpredictability.The BTF enables different types of strategic bombers to operate in the Indo-Pacific Region from a broad range of overseas and continental United States locations with greater operational resilience,USPACAF noted.* On 12 July 2022,two more B-2 Spirits arrived at RAAF Amberley.All four bombers are out of Whiteman Air Force Base,Missouri.Robust strategic relationships with Allies and Partners demonstrates US commitment to the collective defence of Indo-Pacific nations and bolsters the abiltiy of US Airmen to respond to crises.Thus the readiness of forces is enhanced,facilitating response to regional threats and upholding the international rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.Hot refueling,which is done with engines running,with Australian equipment and air-to-air refueling with Australian KC-130 tankers will be part of the BTF drills,developing the skills to effectively operate across the vast distances of the Region.* An RAAF spokeswoman said the deployment is part of the Enhanced Air Cooperation,one of the two elements of the Force Posture Initiatives (FPI) currently in force,the other one being Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D).This air initiative involves rotational bomber and fighter aircraft deployments to Australia and has been operating successfully for several years.It also includes ongoing infrastructure improvements of RAAF air bases to handle new deployments of USAF B-2 bombers,as well as F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft and F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters.The upgrades will enable US aircraft to deploy effectively in a crisis such as conflicts with China and North Korea.Other upgrades are to carried out in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianna Islands under the FPI. * The Government of Australia considers its Alliance with the US to be its most important Defence relationship,central to Australia's strategic and security arrangements.Thus the Australia-US Force Posture Initiatives were announced on 16 November 2011 by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and US President Barack Obama.The first MRF-D was deployed in 2012.In 2014,the FPI were signed at Australia-US Ministerial Consultations.In 2015,the FPI went into force;and in 2017,the EAC commenced.

Reagan Era B-1B Still Relevant Today

A US Air Force bomber first envisioned in the 1960s and produced in the 1980s,the Rockwell B-1B Lancer,saved from oblivion by President Ronald Reagan,remains an integral part of US Strategic Command,and will be for decades.Highly controversial for its cost and questions about its utility early in its life,it has proved much more valuable than many ever thought it would be. Indeed,the B-1B is the only supersonic bomber in the US inventory today,with the biggest payload.What is more,it is the cheapest to fly,even given the extensive maintenance and upgrades it requires. Capable of flying at Mach 1.25 at altitude,or 950 mph/1130 kmh,it was originally solely a nuclear bomber.By the 1990s,it had been given a conventional role as well.In 1995,it was removed from the nuclear forces. Though not technically a stealth aircraft,it is about fifty times less detectable than the ancient B-52 and features variable-sweep wings.Forward sweep is for takeoff,landing and high altitude maximum cruise.Aft sweep is for high subsonic and supersonic flight. The Lancer is still getting upgrades to its cockpit displays,communications and instrumentation.It holds 61 world records for such things as speed,payload,distance and climb rate.It can strike anywhere in the world and safely return to a broad variety of bases without refueling.Extensive electronic countermeasures,reflective coating and stealthy intake design make it highly survivable. The B-1B has been extensively used for missions in the Iraq and Afghan Wars,as well as in Operation Odyssey Dawn over Libya in 2011;Operation Desert Fox in 1998;and Kosovo in 1999.In the Afghan War,it has been used in an armed overwatch capacity,loitering in flight until tasked by ground forces for precision strike with advanced munitions. The Air Force intends to fly the Lancer into the 2030s,gradually replacing it with the Next-Generation Bomber.It believes the B-1B is particularly well-suited for the new Pivot to East Asia strategy,given its long range,speed and survivability.It will continue to invest in this reliable aircraft in support of Pacific and other strategic objectives.