The B-1 Lancer Heavy Bomber - MASSIVE PAYLOAD FIREPOWER

Military aircraft seldom take an uneventful road to full operational service and such was the case with the storied Rockwell B-1 "Lancer" heavy bomber of the United States Air Force (USAF). The Lancer was developed as a nuclear-capable, high-speed bomber to replace the venerable Boeing B-52 "Stratofortress" heavy bombers in service with the USAF since 1955. The Mach 3-capable North American XB-70 Valkyrie was originally set to become the primary heavy bomber of the USAF and Strategic Air Command (SAC) - as well as serving as the B-52's original replacement - but the global political climate, advancing technologies, and an unfortunate accident ultimately led to the product's cancellation. Key forces behind the demise of the XB-70 were advances in Soviet air defenses (in both radar and missile technologies as well as manned interceptors like the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 "Foxbat") and the growing U.S. focus on ICBMs and cruise missiles as a first-strike, radar-evading, low cost alternative to a manned bomber approach. Beyond the B-52 for the high-altitude bombing role, USAF SAC held only the "swing wing" General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" in its stable and this was used primarily in the low-level strike role. The B-52 was a subsonic "heavy" while the F-111 operated as a supersonic system with a much more limited bomb load.

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