Deterrence is one of the favorite words of the American military. After proving the worth of its troops and hardware in countless conflicts around the globe over the past century, the nation has been employing both over the last few decades as a means to stop the bad guys from even thinking of doing bad things.
Technically speaking, anything from political statements to the knowledge that America holds the world's second-largest nuclear weapons arsenal can be used as deterrent, but few things work as well to that end as seeing high-tech military machines always present in, above, or near areas of interest.
The B-1B Lancer is one such military machine, and the sight of it alone inspires awe in allied nations and fear in enemies. Having been around for almost half a century, the supersonic heavy bomber proved its worth on more than one occasion over the years, and it’s now intensely used to fly patrol and intimidation missions.
As you see it here (click main photo to enlarge), one of these beasts was on a so-called presence patrol over the Persian Gulf back at the end of October. The plane is seen as it is flying a five-hour, non-stop mission alongside planes (not visible in this pic) belonging to allied nations Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Flying for so long is something this plane is used to doing. Translated into distance, the bomber’s reach is of about 5,900 miles, which would be 9,400 km. But it’s not necessarily its ability of staying in the air for long and reaching distant targets that makes it such an effective deterrent, but its capabilities.
The plane can carry 75,000 lbs (34,019 kg) of ordnance in three internal bays, including cluster bombs, naval mines, guided bombs, missiles, and, if need be, nuclear bombs.
The B-1B Lancer is one such military machine, and the sight of it alone inspires awe in allied nations and fear in enemies. Having been around for almost half a century, the supersonic heavy bomber proved its worth on more than one occasion over the years, and it’s now intensely used to fly patrol and intimidation missions.
As you see it here (click main photo to enlarge), one of these beasts was on a so-called presence patrol over the Persian Gulf back at the end of October. The plane is seen as it is flying a five-hour, non-stop mission alongside planes (not visible in this pic) belonging to allied nations Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Flying for so long is something this plane is used to doing. Translated into distance, the bomber’s reach is of about 5,900 miles, which would be 9,400 km. But it’s not necessarily its ability of staying in the air for long and reaching distant targets that makes it such an effective deterrent, but its capabilities.
The plane can carry 75,000 lbs (34,019 kg) of ordnance in three internal bays, including cluster bombs, naval mines, guided bombs, missiles, and, if need be, nuclear bombs.