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re: In operation already, invisible plane
Larry J — (archived)

The B-1B flew a lot of missions over Iraq last year and Afghanistan before that. It has been involved in most of our military operations since it was given a conventional bomb capability in the early 1990s. It didn't take part in Gulf War 1 because it was on nuclear standby. According to this source, the B-1B's known combat history is:

KNOWN COMBAT RECORD:
Iraq - Operation Southern Watch (USAF, 1998-2003)
Iraq - Operation Desert Fox (USAF, 1998)
Kosovo - Operation Allied Force (USAF, 1999)
Afghanistan - Operation Enduring Freedom (USAF, 2001-present)
Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom (USAF, 2003-present)

B-1Bs aren't being used much right now because we aren't using many heavy bombers at the moment. There's little need unless the need to drop a lot of bombs reappears. For the most part, when we need to drop bombs on someone, they send in a fighter to drop them one or two at a time.

The BUFF is a great plane, no doubt, but the very last one built came off the line in Feb of 1962. I've heard that some of today's crews have grandfathers who flew the earlier versions back in the 1950s. With continuous refurbishments, the BUFF will likely remain in service for many years to come. As long as you don't have to penetrate heavily defended airspace, it can still do the job.

The B-1B can carry a heavier bomb load for greater distances than a B-52 and it has a better chance of surviving in defended airspace, but it is a more complicated beast to maintain. Still, it's easier to maintain than a B-2 and can operate in daylight like the BUFF.

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