What Does a B-1 Bomber Crash Tell Us About CCP Monitoring of US Military Bases?

Credit: 18th Wing Public Affairs

Commentary

The crash of a B-1 bomber on approach to Ellsworth Air Force Base was the loss of a high-value airframe, but fortunately, the even more important crew survived.

Originally, 100 B-1Bs were made during the Reagan years to supplement the aging B-52 force, which, at the time, still included D, E, F, G, and H models of the B-52. As part of arms control treaty protocols with the Soviet Union, the B-1s were “neutered” in the 1990s and rendered incapable of carrying nuclear ordnance.

Today, there are less than 50 of these B-1Bs still flying. They’re considered a higher operating cost airframe than the remaining approximately 75 B-52H models.  » READ MORE