Rage, Reborn: Legendary B-1B 'Apocalypse II' Now Back in Active Service

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By Ward Clark

Over the decades, many United States Air Force aircraft have gone into the famous boneyard at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, but few have come out again. The warbirds there are generally there for the long haul, and no matter how well prepped for storage, it seems likely that many of them, after a few years, are no longer recoverable.

Now, though, we learn that one warbird has emerged, phoenix-like, from the boneyard. It's a B1B Lancer, known to the crews as the "Bone." Formerly named Rage, the rebuilt, refitted, refurbished B1B is now to be dubbed Apocalypse II, and it's back on duty.

The U.S. Air Force may once have eyed the B-1B Lancer for retirement, but the swing-wing bomber is now set to remain in service longer, and the fleet is even regaining a jet it had previously retired. The B-1B in question was once parked in the “boneyard” in the Arizona desert, but is now back in service after an intensive regeneration and depot maintenance effort.

The Air Force announced today that the B-1B, serial 86-0115, formerly named Rage, had departed Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, after nearly two years of depot maintenance work to return it to operational status. Work was led by the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex, and the bomber left Tinker on April 22 of this year.

Here's the bird on a test flight, in bare metal trim; looks a bit worn here, but it's flying again.

Getting the bird back on duty wasn't easy.

The Lancer was returned to combat-capable status after spending time in Type 2000 storage at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The jet originally arrived at the boneyard in 2021, as one of 17 B-1Bs retired in 2021 that were sent there to consolidate the fleet from 62 to 45 aircraft to help improve overall readiness rates and help redirect funds toward the type’s replacement, the B-21 Raider. 

Here's the Apocalypse II now.

Neat stuff, and it's great to see a classic American warplane back on the line. 

It will be some time before the new B-21 in in active service, and while we still have a considerable B-52 fleet to deliver tons of high explosives all at once, and the B-2 fleet for when stealth is in order, our experiences in Iran lately have reminded us that there's still a role for something capable of carrying a big bombload while being, not stealthy, but faster than a scalded cat with its tail on fire.

Now, the question is, how many more Bones are to be reborn? From this report, that's not clear:

Fiscal Year 2027 budget documents show the Air Force intends to invest $342 million to upgrade its remaining 44 B-1Bs between 2027 and 2031. “This request provides the necessary funding to modernize the platform, ensuring its lethality and relevance through 2037,” the document states.

With the B-1B now set to fly beyond its once-expected sunset, demand for the bomber shows no sign of easing, including recent heavy tasking for Operation Epic Fury. With that in mind, bringing the refurbished Apocalypse II back into the fleet will help keep it ready for the missions yet to come.

Good stuff. But let's turn that refurb team, the great 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group, loose on any remaining Bones in the boneyard that can be recovered. We may need them, and we may need them sooner than expected.

 

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