Technology Explained – Rockwell 8-18

The Long Range Penetrator

The Rockwell 8-1 B

The resurrection of the Rockwell B-1 must rank among the most extraordinary performances of the United States defence industry. Within specifications, under cost and ahead of schedule, all remarkable achievements given the scale of the programme and the sophistication of the aircraft.

The B-1B is easily the most complex airborne weapon system ever to enter production. Differing significantly from its evolutionary predecessor the B-1A, the B-18 is a true multirole combat aircraft which has been carefully optimised as a precision tool for surgical long-range power projection. As such it offers a credible capability to penetrate Soviet PVO defences.

The rate at which the Russians are currently deploying the new MiG-29 Fulcrum, MiG-31 Foxhound and Su-27 Flanker, all equipped with infra-red Search and Track Sets in an attempt to cope with SAC’s electronic warfare capability, clearly testifies to the threat the Russians perceive in the B-18 force. Whether these aircraft can cope with the B-1B remains open to debate, TAC’s fighters have to date apparently put up a less than convincing performance in hunting the elusive terrain following bomber.

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