Aerospace

B-1B bomber modified to carry hypersonic missiles

The United States Air Force recently unveiled a reversible modification of its B-1B Lancer bomber that almost doubles its weapons payload and will allow it to one day carry hypersonic missiles. The demonstration was carried out by the 412th Test Wing, Air Force Global Strike Command, and industry partners on August 28 at Edwards Air Force Base, California.

An advanced version of the Cold War B-1 supersonic nuclear bomber of the 1970s, the B-1B originally entered service in 1985 as a stop-gap modification to fill a strategic hole until the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber was ready for service. Due to later arms control treaties, the B-1B had its capacity to operate nuclear weapons permanently disabled, but the flexibility of its weapons carriage design allows it to field a range of conventional munitions and it's expected to remain in service until the 2030s.

According to the Air Force, the key to this is the fact that the weapons bay of the B-1B has a moveable forward bulkhead that can be moved forward or back to suit different mission configurations. For the latest demonstration, a B-1B showed off its ability to carry weapons externally on hard points as well as inside using a longer bay.