To celebrate the B-1’s 25th birthday, Boeing on Monday issued a release highlighting the bomber’s accomplishments over the years. Top on the list was the aircraft’s successful post-Cold War conversion from a nuclear-capable platform to the conventional-only aircraft used extensively today to support troops in Southwest Asia. Boeing notes that the B-1 went from an aircraft without a primary mission after it shed its nuclear role in the early 1990s to one that now plays a key role in Afghanistan. Indeed, B-1s have dropped more than 70 percent of the joint direct attack munitions used in that country, according to the company. The bomber, affectionately known as “BONE” for its phonetic pronunciation, officially turned 25 in June. Earlier this year, airmen of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess AFB, Tex., celebrated the bomber’s silver anniversary by setting several unofficial world records during B-1 flights from the base.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
