In the early 1990s, following the Gulf War and concurrent with the disestablishment of SAC and its reassignment to the newly formed Air Combat Command, the B-1B was converted to conventional bombing use. It first served in combat during Operation Desert Fox in 1998 and again during the NATO action in Kosovo the following year. The B-1B has supported U.S. and NATO military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Air Force had 66 B-1Bs in service as of September 2012. The B-1B is expected to continue to serve into the 2030s, with the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider to begin replacing the B-1B after 2025. The B-1s currently in inventory will be retired by 2036.
Features
- U.S. Air Force supersonic, strategic bomber with variable-sweep wings
- Multi-Colored Parts (MCP), no painting needed
- The adjustable swing wings can be set up in one of four changeable positions
- Landing gear and bomb bay doors can be built open or closed
- Features Cartograf decal
- Mask for painting canopy included