What are you doing to stay tactically current in the B-1B Lancer: "Jason" - Even though our squadron has just returned from being deployed, our training never stops. Both pilots and weapon system officers are constantly flying training sorties and staying in our books to keep current. Typically we fly training sorties focusing on close air support, mountainous low altitude flight (as low as 500ft), low and high altitude bomb runs, and electronic combat. With electronic combat, we have the ability to practice ingression a target area defended by simulated SAM’s and AAA. "Mike" - We routinely fly training sorties practicing close air support, low altitude bombing, high altitude bombing, defensive maneuvers, electronic combat, and low level ingress to maintain proficiency in all our assigned missions. What are your initial impressions of the B-1B lancer: "Jason" - The B-1 is an extraordinary aircraft. Being able to fly into combat weighing more than 350,000 pounds fully loaded with fuel and weapons and still be able to fly at high speed with good manoeuvrability is an impression hard to match. "Mike" - The B-1 is visually one of the most attractive planes in the inventory. Its long sleek lines make it a very good looking aircraft. I started my career flying F-16’s, so I was initially concerned about the manoeuvrability of such a large aircraft. I was pleasantly surprised after my first flight in the jet as to how well it actually handled, especially with the wings full aft flying at low altitude. Sometimes you forget how much airplane is actually behind you, because it handles and feels like a much smaller jet. How does the B-1B Lancer compare to any other bomber and/or aircraft you have flown, and what are the main differences: "Jason" - This is the only combat aircraft I have flown. "Mike" - I have flown the F-16 as well, and the B-1 provides a very different capability for the Air Force. As compared to the much smaller fighters, we can bring a lot more ordinance and loiter time or range to a fight. The fighters can typically carry between 2 and 6 bombs and loiter for an hour between air re-fuelling, while we can carry up to 24 weapons depending on the configuration and loiter for three to four hours between air re-fuelling. How long does is takes approximately for the sweep wing, to move from fully forward during take-off to fully retracted during flight. And what is your highest set speed ever with the wings swept back: "Jason" - It can take up to a minute to completely sweep the wings aft. I’ve personally flown at Mach 1.2 with the wings swept aft. "Mike" - It can take up to a minute for the wings to sweep from a cruise configuration to the full aft position. I have flown the aircraft up a speed of about 1.2 mach. The B-1B Lancer holds several records for speed, payload and distance. Did you ever set one of these records, or came close to the already set records: "Jason" - No, I haven’t had the pleasure of setting any records. However, I would love to try. "Mike" - I did not set any of those records, and I have not come close to breaking any records. Most of our mission profiles are not set up to maximize any of those parameters. What is your general impression of the APQ-164 Offensive Radar System. And what are the major advantages in combination with the B-1B capabilities: "Jason" - The Offensive Radar is a very efficient and capable system. It allows the crew to effectively track movers in the air as well as stationary and moving targets on the ground. This capability, coupled with the B-1’s high speed and large payload, enables the crew to quickly and decisively prosecute targets on the ground. The B-1B had several updates over the past years. What are the major differences between all these updates, also compared with the last Block E update: "Mike" - The upgrades over the past years have given us the ability to carry and drop more complex GPS guided weapons in mixed load outs. We can now carry GBU-31, GBU-38, JASSM, CBU-103, CBU-104, and CBU-105 weapons in mixed configurations. We could have 38’s in the forward bay, 103’s in the mid bay, and 31’s and JASSM in the aft bay and drop all those weapons simultaneously on the same pass. This gives us a lot of flexibility in weaponeering a target and finding the correct mix of weapons to achieve the desired effect. The B-1B Lancer is emerging as a transformational weapon system, can you tell me a little bit more about the different weapon systems that can be used. And what the most used weapons are for the several different dedicated tasks: "Jason" - The weapons we use the most are the Joint Direct Attack Munitions or JDAM for short. Specifically, the GBU-31 and GBU-38 are the most used. The GBU-31 is a 2000lb weapon with the GBU-38 being a 500lb variant. These weapons are GPS aided. All we have to do is plug in the coordinates of the target we want to strike and the weapon will guide itself to the target. The GBU-38 was quite popular during our recent deployment. It allowed us to drop weapons in urban areas and in close vicinity of our own troops while minimizing potential collateral damage and avoiding fratricide. "Mike" - In our current role in Afghanistan, the B-1 is being used as an on call Close Air Support platform. We can quickly react to emerging threats on the ground anywhere in the country within a matter of minutes while holding in a central location. Once we arrive on station, we can provide up to 24 GBU-31(2000 lbs.) or GBU-38(500 lbs.) GPS guided bombs. We can typically hold overhead for several hours providing weapons or low shows of force for the units on the ground to help accomplish their missions. What is the hardest thing about working on the B-1B: "Jason" - One of the hardest things about the B-1 is the duration of sorties we fly. In many people’s opinion, the B-1 is the platform of choice in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. This is due to its long loiter capability and a large payload. During our recent deployment, the average sortie duration to Afghanistan was 12 hours. Most of that time was spent orbiting overhead on call to support the coalition forces on the ground. The hardest part was trying to stay focused and alert for many hours waiting for those minutes of extreme intensity when called to support our troops on the ground. "Mike" - The hardest thing about working on a B-1 is knowing all the different systems on the aircraft. It is a very complex aircraft that requires constant studying to maintain a working knowledge of the systems. There are many intricacies and relationships between the systems that become very important to know in the event of emergencies when systems fail. You have to know how one systems failure will affect the other systems in order to continue the mission or bring the aircraft home safely. Since we all know that the B-1B has some massive power. Could you maybe describe us how it feels to travel from cruise speed to when you engage full afterburners? "Jason" - We typically cruise around at 440kts True Airspeed. Even at that speed, when the pilots bring the throttles forward and our four afterburners light, you get pushed back into your seat. It’s an awesome experience feeling all that power behind you just pushing you through the air. Unfortunately, I don’t think I can do it justice describing it. It’s just a feeling you have to actually experience. "Mike" - Depending on your gross weight and altitude, you can certainly feel a significant push from the back of your seat when the afterburners are lit and pushed up to max augmentation. When you have to come in at low altitude during a bomb run, what is the minimum height you have to obtain? And could you visualize a typical bomb run for the readers: "Jason" - Flying low altitude in the B-1 is another unbelievable experience. We typically fly 500ft above the ground at in excess of 500. In other words, we can cover up to 9 miles every minute. Needless to say, things happen very fast. If we are dropping unguided munitions, we can drop them from low and high altitude. However, guided weapons, like the JDAM, have to be delivered from higher altitude to utilize GPS aiding to the target. Whether at high or low altitude, we have about 30 seconds to configure the bomb bay doors and weapon release switches so our weapons will hit their target. Needless to say, there is a lot of crew coordination required to successfully strike the target and avoid the threat. "Mike" - We can release bombs at 500 feet AGL on a bomb run at speeds of up to .9 mach. During these bomb runs, the pilots will be focused on maintaining altitude and steering the jet towards the target. At that altitude and speed, a momentary lapse in attention could cause the jet to impact the ground. It is quite a rush as the terrain disappears under the nose as you fly past at 540 knots of ground speed. At about 10 to 20 seconds out from the target on a clear day, the pilots should be able to pick it up visually, only to have it quickly disappear under the nose as we fly overhead releasing weapons. And last but not least, could you maybe share a short story of a memorable deployment or exercise flight you have made in the B-1B Lancer, or any other memorable flight during combat: "Jason" - Our recent deployment was the first time I flew into combat. It would be too hard to single out any one flight. The greatest thing I’ll take away is the feeling of having the awesome responsibility of supporting the guys on the ground. Even though we are 5 miles above the action happening on the ground, you find yourself filled with emotion. Several times when we would contact the Joint Terminal Air Controller (JTAC) on the ground, you could hear the anxiety in his voice and the sound of gun fire in the background. The hardest thing in those situations is making sure to control your emotions. Naturally you want to move as fast as you can to get a weapon off the jet to help the guys on the ground. That’s when mistakes can happen. In those situations you have to force yourself to slow down and get everything right the first time. The worst thing you can do is put a weapon were it doesn’t belong.