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.
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!
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.
