A new president brings a new future to the B-1 Lancer program as the Reagan rearmament program sees development of the B-1 accelerated. The concurrent development and production brings its own headaches as the Lancer matures in time for a twenty year period of constant operations over Afghanistan and Iraq.

Buy The Supersonic BONE: A Development and Operational History of the B-1 Bomber by Kenneth P. Katz at The Aviation Show Bookshop. 10% of each sale supports the show.

UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16621/9781399020299

US: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9781399020299

This is an edited version of our podcast that was released in 2022.

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The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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0:00 The B-1's Resurrection

4:10 Reagan's Military Buildup Begins

6:15 Key Changes in B-1 Development

8:47 The B-1's Entry into Service

11:35 Concurrency and Its Challenges

15:53 The Cold War Ends: A New Mission?

18:31 The B-1's Transformation in the 1990s

20:25 The B-1's Role in Modern Conflicts

22:19 Adapting to a New Warfare

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The B-1 Lancer was a highly innovative design, capable of high-speed, low-altitude flight and potentially could have been a vital buttress to the United States Nuclear Triad. But as we discuss in this second part of the B-1 story, post the Vietnam War, military spending was very much at the forefront of turbulent economic times. New President Jimmy Carter had to make a crucial decision about the future of the B-1.

Buy The Supersonic BONE: A Development and Operational History of the B-1 Bomber by Kenneth P. Katz at The Aviation Show Bookshop. 10% of each sale supports the show.

UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16621/9781399020299

US: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9781399020299

This is an edited version of our podcast that was released in 2022.

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

-----------------------------------------------------

✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!

Website: https://pimaair.org/

https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace

https://www.instagram.com/pimaair

https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum

Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909 Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/

-----------------------------------------------------

The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

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0:00 Introduction to the B-1 Bomber

0:37 Technical Features of the B-1

8:45 Initial Findings and Performance

12:08 Political Context and Controversy

14:55 The Rise of Cruise Missiles

16:04 The B-1's Uncertain Future

17:16 President Carter's Final Decision

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this Bonus Episode, we've re-editted our conversation with Ken Katz about the B-1 from 2022 as the aircraft returns to the forefront of operations. The B-1 bomber is an aircraft that captivates all aviation buffs, a true creature of politics and engineering. The B-1's journey to nearly 40 years on the front line of the US Air Force has not been straightforward. Join us as Kenneth P. Katz, author of The Supersonic BONE, describes the journey to the AMSA program that saw the creation of a series of bombers, like the wonderful madness of the XB-70 Valkyrie, that informed what would become the B-1.

Buy The Supersonic BONE: A Development and Operational History of the B-1 Bomber by Kenneth P. Katz at The Aviation Show Bookshop. 10% of each sale supports the show.

UK: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/16621/9781399020299

US: https://bookshop.org/a/111804/9781399020299

This is an edited version of our podcast that was released in 2022.

-----------------------------------------------------

🛫 Join us on Patreon! Join from just £3 + VAT a month to get ad-free episodes, chat with Matt, and receive a personalised welcome pack. Click here for more info: https://www.patreon.com/theaviationshow

-----------------------------------------------------

✈️Get the latest from the Pima Air and Space Museum by following their socials!

Website: https://pimaair.org/

https://www.facebook.com/PimaAirAndSpace

https://www.instagram.com/pimaair

https://x.com/pimaair

https://www.youtube.com/c/PimaAirSpaceMuseum

Check out the Tucson Military Vehicle Museum here: https://www.tucsonmilitaryvehicle.org/

👕Get your aviation on with 909

Apparel today! Check out their website here: https://www.909apparel.com/

-----------------------------------------------------

The Aviation Show © 2026 by Matt Bone is licensed under Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International

-----------------------------------------------------

0:05 The B-1: A Creature of Politics

1:27 Technological Advances in Aviation

4:54 The B-70: Wonderful Madness

9:10 The Emergence of the Triad

11:50 Shaping the B-1A Specifications

17:30 Competing for the AMSA Contract

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.