The US Air Force (USAF) has launched the retirement process for its famed Rockwell B-1B Lancer supersonic strategic bomber fleet, as the air arm prepares to induct the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider into service later this decade.
The process to divest an initial batch of 17 aircraft began on February 17, when the first B-1B – serial 85-0066 (c/n 26) – departed Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB) in South Dakota for the final time. Later that day, the aircraft arrived at Davis-Monthan AFB, where it will be stored with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group’s (AMARG’s) at the base’s famous boneyard.
Air Force