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10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
- 1. Rockwell B-1B Lancer: Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway by U.S. Air Force· Public domain
- 2. Rockwell B-1A Lancer: Staff Sgt. Bill Thompson· Public domain
- 3. A B-1 Lancer performs a fly-by during a firepower demonstration: U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Robert W. Valenca· Public domain
- 4. B-1B Lancer On Display: Airman 1st Class Michael B. Keller· Public domain
- 5. B-1 Lancer Night: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman Angela Ruiz (RELEASED)· Public domain
- 6. B-1 Lancer bomb bay: Cap'n Refsmmat· CC BY-SA 3.0
- 7. JDAM B-1B Lancer: U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gustavo Gonzalez· Public domain
- 8. Rockwell B-1A Lancer (34327554933): Clemens Vasters from Viersen, Germany, Germany· CC BY 2.0
- 9. Rockwell b-1b lancer af86-103 landing arp: Adrian Pingstone ( User:Arpingstone )· Public domain
- 10. U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer over the Pacific Ocean: Air Force Master Sgt. Nicholas Priest· Public domain
what is it?
The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. It has been nicknamed the "Bone" (from "B-One"). As of 2026, it is one of the U.S. Air Force's three strategic bombers, along with the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress.
How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 41.8 m wingspan
base stats
Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).
fun facts
- First flew 52 years ago, in 1974.
- Top speed is 10.3× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.1 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
- Wingspan of 41.8 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 36 African elephants (~6 t each).
- Range of 9,445 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
- Can fly 2.1× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).
jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1974-12-23
- introduced
- 1986
- status
- still flying
- number built
- 100
- role
- supersonic strategic heavy bomber
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Boeing, Rockwell International
- engines
- 4× General Electric F101-GE-102 / General Electric F101
- crew
- 4
- length
- 44.5 m
- wingspan
- 41.8 m
- height
- 10.4 m
- max take-off weight
- 216.4 t
- top speed
- 1,335 km/h
- range
- 9,445 km
- ceiling
- 18,288 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: Wikidata Q218636, Wikipedia: Rockwell B-1 Lancer (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.