Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (February 4, 2025): It can fly over 12,000 miles non-stop and drop a bomb in a terrorists’ back yard. Those who fly it say it is one sweet ride. In this photo by Airman 1st Class Alec Carlberg, Captain Chase Loving with the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron climbs aboard a B-1B Lancer to begin a mission during Bomber Task Force 25-1. The mission was a non-stop flight from the continental U.S. to Guam lasting more than 31 hours and spanned 12,456 miles. It was intended as a demonstration of the plane’s ability to strike any target, anywhere in the world.
Based at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, the 34th Expeditionary is the 4th-oldest active squadron in the Air Force, entering service at the start of World War I. This storied unit has served in every American conflict since.
Originally developed by Rockwell International, the B-1 is a supersonic, variable swept wing aircraft that is considered the backbone of America’s long range bomber force. It carries the largest payload of conventional weapons in the Air Force inventory in its three internal bomb bays. On its wings, the B-1 has six external hardpoints to deploy joint standoff weapons, air to surface missiles, and the latest GPS and laser guided bombs. With a crew of four, the B-1 is powered by four General Electric turbo-fan engines with afterburners that achieve speeds over nine hundred mph and altitudes over 60,000 feet. For protection, the B-1 carries electronic jamming equipment, a radar warning receiver, and expendable countermeasures like chaff and flares. Due to its variable wing configuration, the B-1 has a remarkably low radar cross section.
Initially developed as a replacement for the dependable B-52, the Air Force eliminated the nuclear mission for the B-1 in 1994. The plane first saw action in December 1998 during Operation Desert Fox, a strike against military targets in Iraq. After the September 11th attacks, the B-1 dropped nearly forty percent of all munitions used during Operation Enduring Freedom. The heavy bomber also supported U.S. troops in 2012 flying over seven hundred sorties in Afghanistan.
Beginning this year, the Air Force will begin replacing the B-1 fleet with the Northrup Grumman B-21 Raider, a nuclear capable plane with the next generation of stealth technology.