The Aviation Show

The B-1B Lancer has been in service for 40-years and her later life has been incredibly busy. With the Lancer's replacement, the B-21 Raider, taking to the skies, you would think the B-1B could look forward to a well earned rest. But, as Kenneth P. Katz brings up to date on the B-1's story, we see that the Lancer's story is far from done.

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

Thumbnail image kindly provided by Ed Parsons. Check out Ed's photography at: https://photos.edparsons.com/

-----------------------------------------------------
🛫 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
-----------------------------------------------------

0:00 The B-1's Evolving Role
1:45 Modernization and Technological Updates
3:41 Recent Incidents and Losses
7:18 Sustainability Challenges
8:59 Parts and Supply Chain Issues
11:28 Future of the B-1 Bomber
15:35 Recent Combat Operations
19:17 The B-1's Endurance and Future Prospects
22:52 The Legacy of the B-1 Bomber, so far
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.
-----------------------------------------------------
🛫 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
-----------------------------------------------------
0:00 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
-----------------------------------------------------

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.

On Wednesday 25th March 2026, a collection of Sir Barnes Wallis', the inventor of the Bouncing Bomb and many other things, will do up for auction at Denhams in West Sussex, England. Leo Denham kindly invited us down to explore this incredible collection and get a closer look at some of the increibly important historical artifacts that Wallis kept in his personal collection.

To find out more about the collection, visit the Denhams website at https://denhams.com/ where you can see all the lots and how you can bid on them.

Full cataloges of the collection are aviable for £10.
-----------------------------------------------------
✈️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
-----------------------------------------------------
0:00 Introduction to the Auction
1:36 Stunning Artworks on Display
3:09 The Iconic Signed Dams Photos
4:58 Family Moments Captured
7:12 Furniture and Personal Items
9:12 The Slingshot 10:22 Presentation Slides
11:17 Hidden Treasures in Old Books
14:28 The Swallow and Wild Goose Models
17:19 NASA's Insights Shared
19:10 Personal Mementos and Memories
21:19 The Marbles: Historical Significance
21:43 Auction Details and How to Participate
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.