Flights of American strategic bombers B-1B Lancer are suspended due to identified technical problems in the fuel system of one of the aircraft. This was reported on Friday, April 23, on the AirForceTimes website with reference to the US Air Force Global Strikes Command.
As noted, at the beginning of the month, after an emergency landing of B-1B with tail number 86-0104 at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, a serious leak was found in the fuel pump, which ensures the bomber goes into afterburner.
In this regard, it was decided to conduct a technical survey and preventive maintenance of the entire fleet of these bombers, consisting of 57 aircraft.
It is clarified that the decision to suspend flights was made on April 20. There are no specific dates for the return of the aircraft to service yet.
The B-1B is a supersonic strategic bomber with a variable sweep wing. It is designed to engage enemy strategic targets using both nuclear and conventional weapons.
Last summer, The Drive published an article stating that the B-1B Lancer strategic bombers could pose a “serious problem” for the Russian fleet.
Then it was noted that during the May flights with the allies over the Black Sea, the bombers worked out the use of AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile anti-ship missiles to destroy the targets of a potential enemy. Such flights, according to the author of the publication, demonstrated the capabilities of the aircraft, which may “pose a particularly serious problem for the Russian fleet.”