Newsweek's 'Unconventional' Went Behind the Controls of the Soon-to-Be-Retired B-1 Bomber

Best-known for its time in service and astounding range, the B-52 Stratofortress is the older brother of America's bomber force. The B-2 Spirit is known for its low-observable radar technology -- so much so that it's often simply referred to as "the stealth bomber." The B-1 Lancer is the U.S. Air Force bomber fleet's middle child and is probably the least well-known. It never really got to fly the missions for which it was created: to drop nuclear bombs on the Soviet Union at low altitudes and supersonic speeds.

The B-1 is technically a "nuclear-capable" bomber, but will never again carry nuclear weapons, thanks to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. But that doesn't mean it never sees action. It is still the fastest bomber and is capable of carrying the most conventional and guided munitions of any other bomber in the fleet.

Before it gets retired and replaced by the upcoming B-21 Raider, Naveed Jamali, a former spy, Navy veteran, author and host of Newsweek's web series "Unconventional" took his crew to Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota. There, they took viewers on a tour of the Lancer and met the pilots who fly it, as well as the munitions airmen who prepare the bomber's internal bay for its lethal payload.

Read: 'Unconventional' Demystifies Military Life While Showing the Power of a New Generation of Veterans

"It looks like a giant fighter jet," Jamali told Military.com. "It's the kind of plane that, as a young kid, I grew up thinking 'that is so freaking cool.' But it's an older plane. It was originally designed to fly low and fast against the Soviets. ... But despite the fact that it looks so futuristic, there's vacuum tube TVs inside of it. It's clear that it's still incredibly lethal, but while the exterior looks really cool, it is still this hodgepodge of a 1970s and 1980s interior."

Jamali saw the interior of the plane in action because Ellsworth's B-1 pilots not only took him for a ride in the powerful plane during an aerial refuel mission, but also let him hop up to the cockpit and take the controls. With this ride, he became the first civilian journalist from a major news outlet to ride in and capture footage of all three bombers in the Air Force arsenal.

"It all started with me writing an article on the B-52 in December 2021," Jamali recalled. "Then in January of 2023, more than two years later, I actually got my first flight in the B-52. For the flights themselves, it's happened over the span of two years."

While he wasn't allowed to fly the B-52 and its eight turbofan engines, a B-2 Spirit pilot did allow him to take control of the aircraft in flight.

"The B-2 was easy," he said. "The pilot literally turned to me and was like, 'Hey, you want to fly it?' I was like, 'You don't have to ask me twice.' The B-2 was super easy to maneuver; beautiful skies, no one's shooting at us. It's like flying a jetliner. It's really smooth. The B-1 controls were stiffer. You really had to kind of muscle them. I got to put into the afterburner and sweep the wings back. The sense of speed comes when you pull the throttle back because it decelerates pretty dramatically and you get thrown forward a little bit."

As cool as the technology is, "Unconventional" is about more than jets and bombs. It's about the troops. The B-21 Raider has yet to enter active service, but the signs that it's coming are all around Ellsworth and elsewhere. The ammo airmen and maintainers will soon have to sunset the skills they've used on the B-1 and B-2 and transition into the Air Force's newest bomber -- no small feat.

"The funny thing is the one that's going to last is the oldest aircraft, the B-52," Jamali said. "From the troops that we speak to, whether they're crew chiefs, maintainers, weapons or even just the airmen driving us to the flight line, I truly think there's a sense of purpose for the mission. I think they understand the relevancy of it. They're getting a whole new one, and this one's nuclear-capable. … There's a sense of excitement but, until the new aircraft comes, the people who work on the B-1 like their aircraft."

The B-1 Lancer episode of Newsweek's "Unconventional" is available on YouTube now.

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