B-1B
Lancer
ser.
85-0089 "Shard of Narsil"
2nd
EB-1B produced
Assigned
to the 10th BMW
somewhere
over the Artic ocean
Winter
1987
The
US
received a rude awakening during the spring of 1987 when a RC-135 surveillance
plane went missing inside the Soviet ADIZ off the coast of the Kamchatka
peninsula while investigating a strange radar signal. Over the course of the
following months it became clear that the Soviets had constructed a powerful
ground-based laser system near the town of Kavaznya. After the loss of over a billion dollars of hardware, the lives of 13 men
& women, and the lack of effectiveness of political negotiations, the
President authorized the use of deadly force in neutralizing the laser facility.
From the outset of the
mission planning the B-1B was chosen to make the strike. 2 aircraft were pulled
from the 10th BMW at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and were sent to the Air Force’s top secret test facility (known as
Dreamland) for modification. The airframes were stripped to the bare metal and
re-skinned with Fibersteel (Carbon
steel/fiberglass composite), the APQ-164 radar was modified to be able to guide
the AIM-120 Scorpion AAM & AGM-88
HARM, and the intermediate weapons bay was modified to carry two AGM-130 Striker
glide bombs. The aircraft were
refinished in an overall anti-glare flat black, with minimum markings.
After being modified
at Dreamland, both EB-1s were flown back to Ellsworth AFB for arming for the
mission. Each EB-1 was fitted with a fuel cell in the forward weapons bay, two
AGM-130s in the intermediate bay, and a rotary launcher loaded with 6 HARMs in
the aft bay. 12 AIM-120 missiles were loaded externally. Each aircraft received
a bit of nose art prior to the launch of the mission.
Both aircraft were
launched from Ellsworth and flew thru Canada & Alaska to the first refueling
point over the
Artic
Ocean, north of Point Barrow,
AK. Kelly flight had just received the first strike authorization message after
being refueled when a Soviet A-50 Mainstay
AWACS and 2 MiG-31s intercepted the two EB-1s. The bombers evaded the MiGs &
continued to hold over the Chukchi
Sea, while another classified bomber made it’s way to the laser facility.
Bud
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