by Tom Clancy
Just behind the pilot's position is a space, about the size of a large packing carton, which pretends to be a toilet. This is not of the flush variety, but simply a canned chemical "pack" which allows a crew of four to function for about twenty hours. For the longer "Global Power/Global Reach" missions, which can last more than thirty hours, a second toilet pack is kept in the stowage compartment just behind the copilot's position. Also kept here are things like food, water, coffee, personal equipment, engine inlet covers, and anything else that can be crammed into the space. For crews used to the relative roominess of the old B-52s, the B-1B can be somewhat confining and spartan. In fact, where the B-52 had crew rest bunks, B-1 crews tend to just lay a couple of engine covers in the aisle between the front and rear compartments and snatch catnaps as time and events allow. Mission endurance is, in fact, virtually unlimited. With aerial refueling, B-1s have flown completely around the Earth in thirty-hour marathons.
In the after part of the crew compartment, on either side of the crew entry hatch, are the positions for the offensive avionics operator (bombardier/ navigator) and defensive avionics operator (electronic warfare officer). Sitting in their own ejection seats, they each face a large vertical panel which controls the various sensor and electronic warfare systems. The electronic systems of the B-1B are tied together by a quadruple-redundant MIL-STD- 1553 data bus. The health and status of all systems are continuously monitored and recorded by a central integrated test system, which greatly simplifies troubleshooting for ground-based mechanics. There are a number of IBM AP-101F computers, based on the 1960s-vintage computers, installed in the B-52G; two are dedicated to terrain following, one is for navigation, one for controls and displays, one for weapons control, and one for backup. By modern standards these computers are pretty feeble — they share a total mass memory unit with only 512K of magnetic core memory (less than the cheapest portable computer you could buy today); but these systems are hardened against the electromagnetic effects of a nearby nuclear explosion. Just try that trick with your desktop PC or Macintosh. Continuing upgrades of the computers and software are likely, if government policies do not cripple the highly specialized radiation-hardened chip industry.
A Rockwell International B-1B Lancer bomber assigned to the 366th Wing's 34th Bombardment Squadron on the ramp of Ellsworth AFB.
John D. Gresham
On the right is the position for the offensive avionics operator, who controls the radar, navigational, and weapons-delivery systems of the B-1B. The nose-mounted Westinghouse APQ-164 radar of the Bone is derived from the APG-66 used on the F-16A. Actually composed of two radars (one to control the terrain-following autopilot, the other to provide an attack sensor) stacked one on top of the other, the APQ-164 has matured a great deal since coming into service ten years ago. Updated software provides for up to thirteen different radar modes to provide ground mapping, navigation, weapons targeting, and all-weather terrain following. The APQ-164 can also operate in an SAR mode, to take the same kind of target-mapping photos that can be obtained from the APG-68 on the F-16C, and the APG-70 on the F-15E. Recent software improvements in SAR mapping radar mode are dramatic. "You could pick out fence posts before; now you can practically see the wire," said one Rockwell executive in a recent trade journal interview, and the crews from the 34th BS confirmed this claim. One of them told us that with the attack system he could resolve the structural legs of high-tension power towers, and deliver 50 lb./227.1kg. iron bombs between the legs. And that's the whole point of keeping the big bombers — their ability to deliver vast amounts of ordnance with a single sortie.
One thing that B-1B crews have desperately needed is an improved navigation system, preferably one based around the NAVSTAR GPS satellite constellation, which was recently completed. Composed of 24 satellites, it provides super-accurate navigation and timing information to users equipped with relatively cheap, small, and lightweight GPS receivers. Unfortunately, unlike fighters like the F-16C, which were among the first to get the Rockwell Collins MAGR, the B-1B bomber force has languished without this badly needed black box. While there are future plans to add the MAGR to the Bone's avionics fit, the crews decided to take matters into their own hands, and thus are the roots of a story. Several years ago, when faced with exactly the same problem, the crews of U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, whose navigation must by nature be extremely accurate, began to get impatient for their own GPS upgrade, and started to look at some commercial options. This led them to our old friends at Trimble Navigation, the makers of the famous SLGR GPS receiver which was used extensively during Desert Storm. (See my previous book Armored Cav for a description of the SLGR.) Makers of a whole line of military and commercial GPS receivers, they had taken the basic technology elements of the SLGR, which was packaged into a case about the size of a car stereo, and repackaged it into a smaller, lighter, and cheaper form factor called the Scout-M. Looking for all the world like an olive-drab phaser from the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Scout-M provided similar functionality to the SLGR, at less than one fifth the weight, volume, and cost. The little green machine has proven quite popular with military personnel and sportsmen around the world, despite the lack of a more accurate PY-code military model, and it is here that we start our story. Trimble's aviation version of the Scout-M contained an additional read-only-memory (ROM) chip, which stores additional flight-related data. Known as the Flightmate Pro, its special ROM is loaded with some 12,000 positions for airfields, airbases, and other important navigational landmarks of concern to aviators. Originally designed to provide private pilots with an inexpensive way of taking advantage of the benefits of the GPS system, it is in fact a highly sophisticated self-contained navigation system which can be had for less than $1,000, and then clipped to the control wheel of your Cessna, Piper, or Beechcraft. Packaged in an attractive gray case, it is equipped with a socket for an external antenna, as well as an interface connector to connect it to a personal computer for route and flight planning. First sold in 1993, it has sold thousands of units to pilots worldwide, and has become something of a bestseller in the world of general aviation.
The Trimble Flightmate, a hand-held GPS receiver being used by USAF crews, including those who fly the B-1B Lancer.
Trimble Navigation
Now enter the U-2 crews of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, who, as we previously mentioned, were desperately in need of a GPS-type navigational system. Soon after the Flightmate Pro's introduction, the U-2 pilots pressured their procurement office to make a request for a commercial buy of the little GPS receivers. To keep the Powers-That-Be from figuring out just what they were doing, they claimed that the Flightmates were going to be used as a search-and-rescue (SAR) aid, to help SAR forces to find them, and in fact, they are quite useful for that task. If it had been bought as a piece of navigation gear, it would have been treated as an avionic system by the folks who manage the procurement programs, and taken years to get approval. As a commercial buy, though, it could be done in a matter of days. Almost immediately, the U-2 pilots began to strap them to their kneeboards, and use them without modifications, since the GPS satellite signals could be easily read by the receiver right through the aircraft's bubble canopy. The U-2 drivers loved it, and have kept their Flightmate Pros well after their aircraft have finally received their scheduled MAGR GPS receiver installation. Word of the nifty little GPS receiver has gotten around, and numerous other units have made "commercial orders" of Flightmate Pros as a "SAR aid." Many of these have come from the B-1B community, including the 34th Bombardment Squadron (BS) of the 366th Wing. The 34th BS maintenance technicians have rigged a GPS antenna on top of the fuselage, and then run antenna connections to each of the crew positions, so that each one can plug in their own personal Flightmate Pro to assist them in their tasks. For the pilot and copilot, this usually means assisting them with route planning, execution, and timing. For the folks in the rear seats, it can be used to assist in planning weapons deliveries and avoiding the envelopes
of threat systems like SAM sites. The young B-1 crews are always finding new ways to use their laptop computers to program the Flightmate Pro, and I have to imagine that they will continue to in the future. Even though it is only accurate to about 100 yards-meters of ground truth, this is usually accurate enough to make a considerable difference in a crew's performance of a particular task. And while the Flightmate may lack some of the accuracy of the PY-code MAGR (which is accurate to within about 10 yards/meters), it is a vast improvement over their existing systems, and may have to do until the coming B-1B GPS installation in the late 1990s. In any case, it's another example of how this fast-moving technology can do almost impossible things for absurdly low prices, and you can even buy one for yourself to boot!
A Conventional Munitions Module (CMM) is loaded into the forward bomb bay of a B-1B Lancer bomber. The B-1B can carry up to three CMMs, each of which can be loaded with up to twenty-six 500 lb/277.3 kg Mk 82 general-purpose bombs.
John D. Gresham
On the left side of the compartment is the position for the defensive avionics operator, whose job it is to manage and operate the defensive countermeasure systems of the Lancer. These include a variety of different sensor, jammer, and decoy systems. But the B-1B's best defense lies in its ability to avoid being seen and caught. As a result, the B-1's designers dispensed with the traditional tail gun, relying on elaborate electronic countermeasures for protection and the aircraft's inherent low radar cross section (RCS).
All of the offensive weapons are carried internally — and I mean a lot of weapons. The maximum ordnance load is 125,000 lb./56,700 kg. — twice the capacity of a B-52. But a more typical combat load would be about half that much. There are two bomb bays: The forward bay is twice the length of the aft bay, and has a movable bulkhead that allows the fitting of one or two optional extra fuel tanks in place of bombs. Up to eighty-four Mk 82 500-pound bombs can be carried in special dispensers called conventional munitions modules (CMMs) that can drop the entire bomb load in just two seconds — about 3,000 feet/914.4 meters of horizontal flight. This is the equivalent of the maximum combat load of seven F-15Es delivered by just one aircraft! Back in the Cold War when the Lancer flew in the strategic deterrent role, it carried up to three removable eight-round rotary launchers, loaded with nuclear gravity bombs or AGM-69 Short Range Attack Missiles. The launchers have been retained and can be fitted with adapters for up to eight Mk 84 2,000-pound bombs, BLU-109, or other weapons, including the AGM-86 ALCM-C air-launched cruise missile with a conventional warhead. (See Chapter 4 for a fuller description of these.) Strangely, because the B-1B is no longer being counted as a nuclear-capable platform under the SALT and START treaties, the entire force is now unable to drop nuclear weapons.
Weapons deliveries of the Mk 82 500 lb./227.1 kg. bombs tend to be made in "strings" or "sticks" of bombs, usually in multiples of six, though as few as one at a time can be dropped. Until the new Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs) come on-line later in the 1990s, the B-1 will run a string of bombs across or along the line of a target, insuring that at least one of the deadly projectiles hits it. Precision targeting was not a big concern back in the days of nuclear deterrence. During the Cold War, target aim points were planned years in advance, and crews trained and drilled endlessly for specific missions until the target area was as familiar as their own neighborhoods. When you're dropping 500-kiloton thermonuclear weapons, an error of a few meters one way or the other is not significant. But in the conventional role, the B-1's current lack of PGMs is a crippling handicap.
With only 500 lb./227.1 kg. bombs to drop, you might wonder why the USAF has not grounded the B-1B fleet and scheduled it for decommissioning. The reason is that while it has some shortcomings in the area of weapons and communications, the Bone represents a potential to rapidly deliver a vast load of precision ordnance over intercontinental distances. Thus, the Bone is at the core of the new "Bomber Roadmap" program that has new communications and weapons systems being installed to support ACC's current and projected conventional missions. Where the B-1B is concerned, this will be a phased upgrade program running over the next five years or so.
In 1996, the active squadrons of B-1Bs will begin to receive the Conventional Munitions Upgrade Program (CMUP) that will provide modified bomb racks bombs (called "Tactical Munitions Dispensers") for delivering CBU-87/89/97 cluster bombs. By 2001, a more ambitious second phase of the CMUP will begin equipping the fleet with the new Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) system. This will require installation of a GPS receiver, an upgraded mission computer, and wiring the bomb bay for the high-speed MIL-STD-1760 data bus, which transfers GPS time, position, and velocity data from the aircraft to the smart bombs.
After many delays and configuration hassles, the NAVSTAR/GPS system, with a suitable low-profile antenna, is finally being integrated onto the B-1's data bus. This Rockwell Collins MAGR unit will supplement or replace the outdated inertial navigation system currently installed on the Bone.
One thing that will have to be upgraded is the communications systems, which are currently oriented towards the old Doomsday mission of the Cold War (largely limited to receiving and authenticating the "Go" codes). Thus, the priority is to install the new Have Quick radios and JTIDS terminals in the bombers' communications bays, so that they will be able to work with the other combat aircraft in the ACC force. Thus, the CMUP will also provide new Rockwell Collins ARC-210 Have Quick II jam-resistant tactical radios. Also likely is a mid-life upgrade for the ALQ-161 jammer, and better integration of advanced missile-warning and radar-warning systems into the defensive avionics suite. Because of the perceived lack of sophisticated threats, money for electronic countermeasures is very scarce in the budget right now. But with the planned decommissioning of the EF- 111A Ravens in 1996, the B-1B's onboard jammer will probably be the most capable airborne jammer in the USAF inventory, and may well be required to fill in that role for a time.
The B-1B is an airframe and a community in transition, with much potential that will have to be realized if it is to perform useful work into the 21st century. Doing this will not be cheap, but ACC will need these bombers if they are to succeed in their goal of supporting two major regional conflicts at one time.
BOEING KC-135R STRATOTANKER
Where once a trip to Europe was considered an adventure, today a trip to the Middle East elicits a travel-weary reaction. "I don't want to go to Saudi Arabia again; I've been there five times, [and] I've got enough souvenirs," one KC-135 pilot said.
— QUOTED IN AIR FORCE TIMES, FEBRUARY 6, 1995
It is a hard fact that much of the "Global Reach" of the U.S. Air Force depends on a fleet of aerial refueling tankers that are, in many cases, now older than their crews. The first KC-135 made its maiden flight on August 21, 1956, and the aircraft entered service in January 1957. A total of 798 KC-135 Stratotankers were built between 1956 and 1966. Their original, highly critical mission was to refuel the SAC fleet of B-52 nuclear bombers on their way to Doomsday (and back). Many of these planes spent decades standing alert duty, enjoying the fanatically meticulous maintenance that SAC enforced. Because the aircraft spent so little time under the stresses of flying, the -135 fleet is in surprisingly good condition. In fact, the fleet average on flight hours per airframes is something less than fifteen thousand hours, which is amazing when you consider that most of them were built in the early 1960s, and an equivalent commercial Boeing 707 might have over 120,000 flight hours! Now equipped with new engines, new wing skins, strengthened landing gear, and modernized avionics, the 552 remaining KC-135s will continue to give many years of good service. They will have to, because there is currently nothing on the drawing boards, or in the Air Force budget, to replace them.
Throughout the history of aerial warfare, the single most limiting factor has been the fuel capacity — and thus the range — of the aircraft flying the combat missions. The lack of a long-range escort fighter cost the Germans the Battle of Britain in 1940. Conversely, the P-51
Mustang, with its "seven-league boots," was the deciding factor in the success of the 8th Air Force in their operations over Germany. Thus, the idea of extending an aircraft's range by aerial refueling is such a simple idea, it is surprising that it took so long to catch on.
The first known attempt to do so occurred in 1921, when an aviator named Wesley May climbed from one flying biplane to another with a 5-gallon /18.9-liter can of gas strapped to his back. Later, daring young officers like Major Henry H. "Hap" Arnold and Major Carl A. Spaatz (both became generals in World War II) experimented with simple hose and gravity-feed or pump arrangements for passing fuel from one aircraft to another. At the time, this was regarded more as a stunt to set flight endurance records than a realistic operational option; but it was a start on the road to the airborne tankers of today. World War II passed without any known use of aerial refueling by any of the combatants, though it would be the last major conflict where the technique would not be used.
After World War II, two different technologies for aerial refueling were developed in the United States. The first of these, the probe-and-drogue method, required the tanker aircraft to reel out a hose with a cone-shaped receptacle (the drogue), that could then be "speared" by a fixed or extensible probe on the receiving aircraft. This method is preferred by the U.S. Navy, the Royal Air Force, and a number of NATO countries. The other method, Boeing's Flying Boom, required a trained boom operator with nerves of steel to guide a telescoping boom with twin steering fins into a locking receptacle on a receiving aircraft, which meanwhile is trying to maintain precise formation in the tanker's turbulent wake. This technique appealed to the USAF, who felt that the actual hookup between the aircraft should be controlled by a professional who did this odd task for a living. Tanker "boomers," as they are known, are usually sergeants who double as the aircraft's crew chief.