Tag Archives: Ellsworth Air Force Base

For the first time in 10 years a B-1 bomber conducted CAS training “in the vicinity of Australia”

A “Bone” deployed to Guam has taken part in Close Air Support training with Royal Australian Air Force near Australia for the first time in at least a decade.

On Oct. 25, a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron and deployed to Guam from its homebase at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., conducted integration training with Royal Australian Air Force JTACs (joint terminal air controllers.)

Role of the JTACs, previously known as FACs (Forward Air Controllers), is to provide precision terminal attack guidance of CAS (close air support) assets from a forward position.

Indeed, their role is to act as a sort of “broker” between the commander of the troops on the ground and the pilot, working embedded on a patrol, in the vicinity of the enemy, in an armored vehicle, or from the Tactical Operations Center of a Forward Operating Base.

Through the ROVER (Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receiver) system made available by the pods carried by several aircraft (such as the Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared – ATFLIR – pod that the F-18s carry on the left side of the fuselage or the Sniper pod in case of the B-1), the JTACs are able to receive realtime footage from above on a portable terminal similar to a Playstation. Such live video streaming is used to determine whether the pilot is cueing the weapons to the correct ground target (and avoid friendly fire or collateral damage).

B-1s have already proved to be able to support ROVER Internet Protocol Network, or RIPN, project, in September 2013 when they were able to form a network through the Lancer’s Sniper pod to several ROVERs on the ground, effectively allowing them to pass digital close air support targeting coordinates or sensor points of interest to the B-1 crew.

According to the U.S. Air Force, this was the first time in at least 10 years that B-1s have conducted close air support training in the vicinity of Australia.

The B-1B is part of Pacific Air Force’s CBP (Continuous Bomber Presence) mission to Guam, where the aircraft, belonging to the 28th Bomb Wing deployed on Aug. 6, 2016 to replace the B-52 (and deter North Korea and China.)

CAS are among the most frequent missions flown by the “Bones” against ISIS during their 6-month deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve last year: when they returned stateside in January 2016, the B-1s had flown 490 sorties dropping 3,800 munitions on 3,700 targets.

Take a seat in the cockpit of a B-1B Lancer (at low level, at night or doing an aileron roll) with this cool graduation video

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Ever wondered what it looks like to be in the cockpit of a B-1 “Bone” doing an aileron roll?

Low level flying, formation flying, night refueling, range activity and even a bit of aerobatics (yes, “Bones” can perform aileron rolls): this is all what you will find in the footage below produced by B-1 FTU Class 16-02 students “to share a glimpse into the life of upgrading Pilots and WSOs (Weapon System Officers)” and shared on Twitter by @B1B_Driver.

Air Force Strike Global Command FTUs provide follow-on training for pilots, WSOs and aircrew members in their assigned aircraft (B-52, B-1 or B-2).

Several “Bones” (in accordance with the nickname used by their aircrews) have deployed to Guam on Aug. 6, marking the first B-1 deployment there in a decade.

The aircraft, replaced the B-52s in supporting the U.S. Pacific Command’s (USPACOM) Continuous Bomber Presence mission.

Update: unfortunately the footage has been removed from Youtube. Still, here’s a gif of the aileron roll part.

Here’s a Gif created from the original footage showing the B-1 performing an aileron roll as seen from the cockpit.

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Cool shot of a B-1 bomber departing the tanker like a boss during air strike on ISIS

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This is how you depart the tanker like a boss!

Taken on Jul. 23, during a mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, this cool shot shows a U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer (“Bone” for the pilots community), depart after refueling from a USAF KC-135 Stratotanker from the 340th Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron.

The bomber belongs to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron deployed to Al Udeid, Qatar from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota.

The actual location where the picture was taken has not been disclosed but most tanker tracks are located over Iraq.

The B-1 have taken part in the air strikes on IS since the beginning of the air campaign: according to a story published by the AFP news agency earlier this year, in the previous 6 months, the U.S. Air Force Lancers had accounted for 18 percent of all the strike missions against the ISIS and for 43 percent of the total tonnage of munitions dropped in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

Watch a B-1 Lancer bomber buzz photographers on take off from Al Udeid airbase

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Head-on take off by a “Bone” deployed to Qatar to fight ISIS

B-1’s take offs are always impressive.

B-1’s take off at Al Udeid, west of Doha, in Qatar, where the U.S. Air Force has based its heavy bombers to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria can become really breathtaking if you observe the head-on departure of a Lancer coming low over you: this is what you can (almost) experience by simply watching the following video.

Noise abatement and safety procedures stateside usually prevent such maneuvers to be performed at Dyess or Ellsworth Air Force Base.

Fascinating video shows B-1B bomber crash landing on Dry Lake at Edwards AFB

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Impressive footage of a B-1B “Lancer” performing a crash landing on lakebed.

The following video was recorded on Oct. 4, 1989.

It shows the successful crash landing of a “Bone” (85-0070) on the surface of Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base, where the plane was diverted after an in-flight failure to the #2 hydraulic system prevented it from lowering the nose gear.