This B-1 bomber releasing flares during a high-speed flyby is my favourite image of the day

November 13, 2012 Military Aviation
David Cenciotti

The B-1 has been dubbed as the plane capable to carry the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory.

Flares are aerial infrared countermeasures made of a composition based on hot-burning metal used to counter heat seeking surface-to-air missiles: flares generate temperatures equal to or hotter than engine exhaust attracting the missile’s seeker head.

Put the two things together and you’ll get one of the coolest pictures I’ve seen lately.

Image credit: Dyess Air Force Base

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About David Cenciotti
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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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