Cold War's B-1 Bomber Emerges as Effective Weapon in Afghanistan

Politics Daily ^ | 11/21/2010 | David Wood

[sukhoi-30mki]

Cold War's B-1 Bomber Emerges as Effective Weapon in Afghanistan

9 hours ago

The voice on the radio is measured but firm: "Hawk Nine One, this is Hard Rock -- we are taking sustained fire at this time from the compound 50 meters north of Objective Tiger, requesting show of force over the objective, how copy, over.''

Hawk Nine One, a graceful swept-wing B-1 bomber, climbs sharply and snap-rolls to the right. Beneath its gunmetal-gray fuselage, a torpedo-shaped pod stares at the ground 18,000 feet below, processing infrared and television images displayed on screens in the cockpit.

"Hard Rock, Hawk Nine One, good copy,'' Capt. Erick "Sis'' Lord tells the infantrymen on the ground. Lord, barely visible behind his helmet, face shield and oxygen mask, is a back-seat weapons system operator (WSO, or "whizzo''). He's strapped into his ejection seat crammed into a nest of radar and video screens and switches linked to 11 tons of precision-guided bombs poised in the jet's three ample bomb bays.

The supersonic B-1 was designed almost a half-century ago to attack deep into the Soviet Union with thermonuclear bombs. Surprisingly, the "Bone'' has emerged as one of the most effective weapons of the counterinsurgency fight in Afghanistan, a turn of events that should humble today's analysts confidently predicting the shape of conflicts and weapons in the year 2060.

Its huge bomb capacity is not the main reason. Instead, it's the jet's ability to loiter overhead for hours and use newly acquired sensors to scan the ground, finding knots of Taliban fighters, watching remote compounds to see who comes and goes, detecting buried roadside bombs and sometimes even catching insurgents planting the improvised explosive devices.

The new sensors, and imaginative work by B-1 "crew dogs'' (click right for video of a B-1 on base) have led to new air tactics for a supersonic bomber, such as scouting ahead of friendly troops to locate the enemy -- and either guiding the troops into an attack, or helping them avoid an unnecessary firefight. On one recent mission over Afghanistan, Capt. Dan Alford, a B-1 Whizzo, used his infrared and TV sensors from high overhead to locate an American unit and guide a helicopter in to pick them up, scanning the area "to make sure nobody was sneaking up along the hillside,'' he said. And with its big fuel load and afterburners, the B-1 -- unlike the slow and cumbersome unmanned drones -- can dash across the country to provide cover for U.S. troops under fire.

"It's a great platform,'' enthuses Gen. David Petraeus, the top Afghan war commander. "We're not dropping bombs constantly -- it's up there, waiting.''

B-1 bombers will fly about 1,000 missions over Afghanistan this year, roughly the same as last year and in 2008. But the number of bombs dropped on those missions has declined sharply, from about 1,330 in 2008 to about 660 last year and half that many this year.

On this sortie, a training mission over West Texas, Hawk Nine One is packing serious heat -- a mix of 2,000-pound and 500-pound precision-guided bombs. That's reassuring to the ground commander, "Hard Rock,'' whose unit is hunkered down near a "village'' he is protecting from Taliban raiders. But instead of blasting the area with high explosives, the commander wants to attempt scaring off the insurgents, to force them to break off the firefight and flee. That's the point of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, after all: not to try to kill all the Taliban, but to protect the people.

And the crew of Hawk Nine One is only too glad to oblige. As Lord rechecks the grid coordinates of Hard Rock's location (one four sierra one five one four nine three eight seven five one), Capt. David "Smoke'' Grasso, the pilot, throttles up and pushes the stick forward, diving sharply and accelerating toward the ground.

If the insurgents happen to look up, they'll get a nano-second glimpse of a 95-ton dart silently slicing down at them at 600 mph. The thunder and shock, as the B-1 levels off and rockets over them, are immense.

But this time, not effective.

"Hawk Nine One, Hard Rock, we are taking casualties, request immediate support, need effective fire on the white building north of the objective, how copy, over?'' Over the strained voice of the Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC), an Air Force commando attached to the Army infantry unit, Grasso and Lord can hear the deep pom-pom-pom of .50-caliber heavy machine-gun fire. "Hard Rock, Hawk Nine One, good copy, request nine line and commander's initials, over."

The "nine-line'' is a standard form that lists nine critical pieces of information, including target elevation, location of friendly troops, which way the jet should approach, and the ground commander's initials, to document that he has requested and confirmed the air strike at a particular time on a particular point.

But it's on the B-1 crew to avoid unnecessary damage or outright error. When the JTAC reads off the coordinates of the target, at least two of the bomber's four-man crew double-check the numbers. They are checked again on the map displays on their computers, and compared with the video images of the target, visible by day and via infrared at night. Everything is reconfirmed once again with the JTAC on the ground.

That's easy because the JTAC on the ground and Lord at 18,000 feet are both looking at the same video image on their laptops. The JTAC can say, "Move your cursor left . . . a bit more . . . There! That's the target."

From his right-front seat, Grasso is conferring with Lord and the JTAC about the type of munitions and fusing to use. The small building has been under observation for days; it was long abandoned until a band of Taliban seized it to set up an ambush for American troops. It's a small structure, so Lord selects a 500-pound bomb, and sets a delayed fuse, as Hard Rock has requested, so the bomb will penetrate into the earth for a few milliseconds before it explodes, limiting its lethal shower of shrapnel.

Now the radio talk gets terse. There's only one B-1 overhead, and the JTAC switches to the common nickname for the B-1, "Bone.''

"Bone, Hard Rock, requesting emergency pass.''

There's a trick to figuring out how badly the ground guys need help, and what to do for them: listening to the stress in the JTAC's voice. "It's the difference between crying for air [support] and dying for air,'' says a B-1 Whizzo. "We consider ourselves the calm and collected aviators while they're getting shot at. We try not to get too excited up there in the jet, just let them know somebody's overhead to help 'em out.''

"Roger, Hard Rock. Two minutes."

On the jet's intercom, Grasso says, "Sis, you see anything abnormal there, like anybody in the vicinity?"

Sis: "Negative.''

"Hard Rock, Bone in from the west, one minute."

"Roger, Bone, cleared hot." This is the JTAC authorizing the jet to release its bombs when it reaches its release point.

Ten years ago, the ground commander bought the bomb -- if he said he wanted it dropped on a nearby enemy, he got it. The air crew's job was just delivery. But that's all changed -- the tactics, and the underlying strategy. "You can't rebuild a country by blowing it up,'' explains Grasso, who is after all a professional bomber pilot. "We don't want to go in and take out targets unless we have to. We could drop all the bombs we have and not necessarily win this war. '' Every effort is made to avoid having to drop a bomb -- including asking the ground commander if he can break contact with the enemy and go home. But sometimes there's no alternative.

"Hard Rock, 30 seconds."

There's no triumphant shout of "Bombs awaaaay!'' when Lord triggers the release and a 500-pound GBU-38 glides away from the jet. Instead:

"Hard Rock, Bone off hot, one GBU-38, impact 45 seconds."

And that's the longest 45 seconds there is, says Lord, having done all you can to ensure the bomb goes where it's supposed to, but still . . .

"Bone, good hit, building destroyed. Thanks for the help!"

Grasso has already taken the B-1 up and away, and is turning toward a rendezvous with a refueling tanker (video at right) at 21,000 feet.

A good hour's work, during a mission that lasts 12 hours or longer over Afghanistan. Together with transit time to and from a Persian Gulf base, that adds up to wartime missions that can last 16 hours in the air, said Lt. Col. Mike Miller, who commands the 9th Expeditionary bomb Squadron deployed to the region.

It's a demanding mission, hard on crews and maintenance techs, and expensive. Crews pop dex to stay awake, Ambien to help them sleep at irregular hours. A 12-hour mission costs $698,988, more than double the operational cost of an F-15 (which has two engines, half as many as the B-1).

And for each hour of flying time, the B-1 requires an average of 47.4 man-hours of maintenance. The Bone "is a maintenance person's nightmare,'' said Air Force Tech Sgt. Jacques Boddy, a B-1 maintainer at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas. "It's the hardest airplane to maintain in the entire United States Air Force!''

B-1s have been flying over Afghanistan without cease since 2001, and despite maintenance problems with the bomber, "it's meeting every requirement,'' said Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, operations and plans chief for the Air Force.

Still, the fleet of 66 B-1 bombers is scheduled for $1 billion worth of upgrades, and the Air Force will rely on the Bone to maintain its role as a strategic bomber for the next 30 years.

[null and void]

That's the point of the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, after all: not to try to kill all the Taliban, but to protect the people.

Huh?

[Hugin]

The B52 was also designed to deliver nukes into Russia and was about to be taken out of service until Vietnam came along and someone realixed it could also carry a whole lof of conventional bombs. A good weapon system will find a mission.

[Pentagon Leatherneck]

Wow. 47 MMH/FH is a steep price to pay for the Bone’s capabilities.

TC

[Hugin]

“Huh?”

Really. The Afghans understand and respect someone who wants revenge. They didn’t have a problem with us killing the Taliban. They do have a problem with changing their way of life and imposubg a central government.

[Gadsden1st]

Jumped out at me also. Every morning I slip further down the rabbit hole. I am becomming convinced there is something in the water. I am living in an insane world.

[null and void]

I am becomming convinced there is something in the water.

Ptomaine Potomac poisoning...

[Vor Lady]

weapons system operator

Sigh....I wish people would get this right. It's Weapons Systems Officer. My husband was a WSO on the Bone out of Ellsworth; the 37th. Navigator/Bombadiers get no respect.

[meatloaf]

Yep!

[Texas Fossil]

B-1B is awsome.

I taught night classes in RF electronics at Dyess during 2 summers. Took my vacation to do it.

Night take-off of that bird is amazing. With afterburners on take-off the vibration and sound very impressive. Such power.

The bird is designed to fly low to ground, fast and carry a deadly load.

The folk who maintain them are great. I got to know some of them.

Many of the techs and crew have been away from Abilene a lot with this mess in the sandpile.

Thanks for the great article.

[Walkingfeather]

Next time we wear masks, and jump from behind a bush and yell BOO!

[jagusafr]

As an old TAC guy, I always thought it looked like an F-111 Aardvark with a thyroid problem. But it was always impressive to watch them shoot touch-and-gos at Cannon AFB.

Colonel, USAFR

[Obadiah]

Yep, the first thing I picked up too. Funny how that's camouflaged within this whole article.

[PeterPrinciple]

They do have a problem with changing their way of life and imposing a central government.

---

That sounds familiar

[uscga77]

You can’t kick ass without tanker gas.

[Joe Boucher]

EAch time I drive by the U.S.S. Alabama I remember hearing how a Battleship sat over the horizon off Beirut and pinpointed small volkswagon sized shells at will where and when it cared to.
Most impressive.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"The supersonic B-1 was designed almost a half-century ago to attack deep into the Soviet Union with thermonuclear bombs."

I think this is a little misleading here. I remember first hearing about B-1's being in service in the late 80's. But then again, I'm just an old Jarhead and not up on all of the Air Force planes. Sure, there's lots of things that are in design phases for many years, but this article makes it seem like the B-1 has been around for 50 years. It's not that old of a plane!!

Another little sidenote, I see that the Air force supplies the TACP guys to the army to coordinate their CAS. It's different in the Marine Corps, since we own our own air assets, the CAS officers in an infantry batallion are Marine pilots doing a tour with the grunts.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"EAch time I drive by the U.S.S. Alabama I remember hearing how a Battleship sat over the horizon off Beirut and pinpointed small volkswagon sized shells at will where and when it cared to. Most impressive."

That was the U.S.S. New Jersey. Blowing away bad guys in the Bekkeau valley. It was awesome to know they had our back...

[sukhoi-30mki]

I’d assume that he’s referring to the start of the B-1 design programme in the late 60s.

[NowApproachingMidnight]

This article makes me confused as to why the B1 is not dropping it’s original payload of thermonuclear bombs on these Taliban scum. Why are fighting with one hand tied behind our back?