The story of the B-1 is one of a circuitous path. The B-52 Stratofortress bomber had not yet entered service when the US Air Force began to think about its replacement. The first attempt to replace the B-52 was the exotic and impractical B-70, of which only two prototypes ever flew.The second attempt was the B-1A, a controversial weapon system that was cancelled before it ever went into production. The third attempt was the B-1B Lancer, which was produced and fielded operationally. But the B-1B never fully replaced the B-52. It entered service in a hurry and with serious flaws, and the end of the Cold War left it without its primary mission. After the Cold War, the B-1B was the subject of an extensive upgrade of its capabilities, and it became highly effective in conflicts completely different from the global thermonuclear war for which it was designed to deter, if possible, and fight if all else failed. The story of the B-1 is one of interconnections between military requirements, doctrine and strategy, technology, and politics. It’s also a story of people: aeronautical researchers, engineers, program managers, production workers, Presidents of the United States and their appointees, commanders, aircrew, maintainers, and many others
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