Interesting photos show B-1B Lancer decommission process at Barksdale AFB

On Jun. 22, 2021 a B-1B Lancer from Dyess AFB, Texas, landed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, to become decommissioned and displayed as a part of Barksdale’s Global Power Museum airpark of static displays.

On Jun. 22, 2021 a B-1B Lancer from Dyess Air Force Base (AFB), Texas, landed at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, to become decommissioned and displayed as a part of Barksdale’s Global Power Museum airpark of static displays.

As already reported preparing a B-1B for its retirement requires removing the engines, certain avionics and other sensitive equipment.

As the photos in this post show, on Jul. 7, 2021 Airmen from Dyess to drain jet fuel from the center gas tank of the bomber and the engines were removed from the Lancer. The engines and all usable parts were salvaged from the B-1 before being displayed at the Barksdale Global Power Museum in September.

Last February the US Air Force (USAF) began divesting 17 B-1B bombers from its current fleet as authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act.

The service said this action will not affect the service’s lethality or any associated maintenance manpower. It will allow officials to focus maintenance and depot-level manpower on the remaining aircraft, increasing readiness and paving the way for the bomber fleet modernization ready to meet future challenges.

The 17 B-1B aircraft will be retired from the current fleet of 62 B-1s, leaving 45 in the active fleet. Of the 17 B-1 aircraft, four will be required to remain in a reclaimable condition that is consistent with Type 2000 recallable storage.

Photo credit: Airman 1st Class Chase Sullivan and Senior Airman Jacob B. Wrightsman / U.S. Air Force