Posted on 09/10/2010 8:03:25 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
B-1 carries record-setting missile load
07:01 GMT, September 10, 2010 DYESS AFB, Texas |
A Dyess Air Force Base B-1B Lancer carried a full load of 24 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missiles on a flight over the Gulf of Mexico, Sept. 7 -- a first for the B-1 and AGM-158.
"The mission was a success," said Maj. Brian Owen, the chief of wing weapons and tactics. "Everything went as planned, and we can verify that the B-1B can in fact operate its full capacity of JASSMs."
The purpose of the flight was to ensure maintainers, ammo and munitions Airmen and B-1 aircrew are proficient in uploading, flying, employing and downloading the AGM-158 JASSM and to test all missile-related processes to see if there's room for improvement. None of the missiles were released during this test; they were system-checked while in the air.
"Maintainers loading 24 JASSMs on one B-1 is a record-setting event," said Senior Master Sgt. Jeff Rud, of 7th Maintenance Group. "It's never been done before. The main reason we're doing this is for training. It's the cornerstone of all we do. It provides us the opportunity to hone our war fighting skills and gives us the opportunity to project our combat capability right here out of Dyess (AFB)."
The B-1 is the most capable JASSM employment platform in the world, Major Owen said.
"We've seen the engineering specs that say it's supposed to work, but it's never been done before," Major Owen said . "What makes the B-1 unique versus the other aircraft around the world is that we can employ these weapons on such a large scale. We can take off with two aircraft and have the capability to strike 48 different targets."
The second most capable aircraft is the B-2 Spirit, carrying 16 JASMMs, followed by the B-52 Stratofortress with 12.
The AGM-158 JASSM is designed to keep the jet and its crew a significant distance away from surface-to-air threats while still holding an enemy's targets at risk.
The AGM-158A is a stealth cruise missile powered by a Teledyne CAE J402 turbojet that uses flip-out wings with control surfaces and a single vertical tail for flight control. It's guided by a jamming-resistant, GPS-aided inertial navigation system and uses an imaging infrared seeker for autonomous pattern-based target selection and terminal homing.
The missile is armed with a 1,000 pound WDU-42/B insensitive munitions penetrating warhead, and accuracy is quoted within 8 feet. It is also equipped with a data link to transmit status and location information until impact, thus assisting in bomb damage assessment.
"I've been in the aircraft maintenance business for more than 24 years, and anytime you have the opportunity to do something first, it is a real morale booster," Sergeant Rud said. "It gives us here at Dyess (AFB) bragging rights, and that goes a long way in terms of building pride in your unit and pride in the aircraft you work on. I have found that people love to do their primary job, whether it's ammo line delivery crews delivering bombs or weapons loaders loading bombs.
"It's in these moments that people get energized when they see their part of an operation come together with the other pieces of the puzzle that makes them feel good about what they do," he said.
---- Tech. Sgt. Robert Wollenberg 7th Bomb Wing Public affairs / AFNS
In 1956, when I was 4 years old, we lived in one of the houses along the perimeter of the “airfield” section of Carswell; I could sit out in the back yard watching B-36s and bulldozers all day.
Life was good.
If the target's a couple thousand miles inland, probably "None".
The only FAE bomb we have (that I know of - and I certainly may be wrong) is dropped by parachute from the end of a C-130 ramp.
The B-1 rotary drop bomb racks can’t carry it.
FYI - great video of the BLU-96 dropping on YouTube.
Maybe someone can explain, but how do you get more of them on a B-1 than a B-52? The B-52 can carry a small city.
The B-1B has a heavier payload capacity than the B-52. Anyway, Id assume that the carriage of particular weapons is linked to the capacity of the respective onboard launchers.
http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/military/read.main/40642/
Jealous much? :-)
How many nuclear weapons do they trust the Army with?
We need strong carrier capacity, but the problem with cyclic attacks is the enemy is ready for you after the first wave.
You get the true benefit of surprise once and only once. First sortie capacity is very important.
The B-1B is an outstanding aircraft that took a long time to come of age. We should get as much life out of each of them now that they can do so much.
And man to they look and sound GREAT!!
My reference for the B-1’s three internal bomb bays, plus wing-mounted weapons is “Bone - B-1 Lancer in Action” by Squadron/Signal Publications, aircraft book nbr 179, text and photos by Lou Drendel.
A good friend’s dad was killed testing the early B-1X - so I feel “attached” to it more than many.
75,000 lbs internally in 3x bomb bays
59,000 lbs externally
Certified for B61 and B83 gravity nuclear bombs and AGM-69 cruise missiles - but all nuke ability was removed and the plane’s inspected by the Russians as part of the SALT treaties. (Nothing like letting the Russians inspect our bomb bays, is there?)
84x conventional Mk84 500 lb bombs in each bay is most common load.
8x Mk 84 2000 lb bombs in each bay.
10x cluster bombs CBU-87 in each bay with 202 bomblets each.
10x CBU-89 anti-tank cluster bombs with 79 bomblets in each CBU in each of 3x bays.
10x self-guided CBU-97 anti-tank rockets in each bay
Aux fuel tank
CBU-32 JDAM self-guided bomb control links.
AGM missiles, etc.
Nothing in his list has the large-diameter fuel air explosive bomb. The central “axle” of the convtentional weapons module (CWM) “hangers” for the bombs won’t let it fit.
24 AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Stand-off Missiles. Thanks sukhoi-30mki.
I can neither confirm nor deny ...
;)
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