After time in storage and two years of “intensive” maintenance efforts, a B-1B Lancer is back in action, deemed combat capable.
The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex at Tinker Air Force Base regenerated the aircraft following its time in the “boneyard,” according to a Thursday Air Force release.
The “boneyard,” held at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, refers to Type 2000 storage that keeps aircrafts available to reclaim certain parts for active fleets.
As the Air Force works to modernize its bomber fleet and nurture legacy platforms considered significant to current operations, this revival highlights the necessity of depot maintenance in extending an aircraft’s service life.
Over 200 airmen and civilians from the 567th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron collaborated on the repair efforts and worked in extended shifts to complete system overhauls and structural repairs.
The team, who “rarely sees the runway,” replaced over 500 components of the B-1, the release reads.
“The maintainers of the 567th support our warfighters at unprecedented levels,” Steven Mooy, 567th AMXS master scheduler, said in the release.
“They overcome so many obstacles and work together to accomplish repairs that nobody else in the bomber community could do,” Mooy continued.
To confirm the system’s functions, Tinker’s 10th Flight Test Squadron completed check flights by flying the aircraft over Oklahoma in a “stripped, bare-metal configuration,” meaning the aircraft had all paint removed before its repairs.
The final step in the regeneration process, the paint facility, followed once the B-1 passed those tests and was considered fully mission capable, per the statement.
At the paint facility, three rotating teams worked to ensure the aircraft was ready for final delivery.
Tinker B-1 Systems Program Office Technical Analyst Jason Justice, a retired airmen, helped spearhead the effort to bring the aircraft back to life after being part of the team that sent it into storage in 2021.
“I’ve been on this jet for 32 years,” Justice said in the release. “To see it come back and still support the warfighter is a great feeling.”
Bearing a new name and fresh nose art, the aircraft left the Tinker base on April 22 and returned to Dyess Air Force Base.
Cristina Stassis is a reporter covering stories surrounding the defense industry, national security, military/veteran affairs and more. She previously worked as an editorial fellow for Defense News in 2024 where she assisted the newsroom in breaking news across Sightline Media Group.