B-1B Tests New Pylon That Could Drastically Increase Its Weapons Carriage Capabilities

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One of the U.S. Air Force’s B-1B Lancer bombers has begun flying with a new type of external pylon that will be able to accommodate a wide range of munitions, including larger weapons and hypersonic cruise missiles. The testing of the Load Adaptable Modular pylon, or LAM reflects the continued importance of the B-1 to the Air Force. Although its retirement is now planned, the bomber remains valuable, especially for its ability to carry large and diverse payloads over long distances and it has been earmarked as a hypersonic weapons test platform, in particular.

The U.S. Air Force announced today that the 412th Test Wing, at Edwards Air Force Base, California, has tested the Boeing-designed LAM, which it says is planned to “remove traditional weapon constraints.” The new pylon was flown attached to a B-1B assigned to the wing’s 419th Flight Test Squadron.

A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron conducts flight tests on the Load Adaptable Modular pylon in the skies over California, Feb. 15. Air Force photo by Richard Gonzales

In photos dated February 7 and February 15, 2024, a B-1B test aircraft is seen with a single LAM pylon fitted under the port side of the forward fuselage, roughly adjacent to the start of the wing root. It appears to be loaded with an inert 2,000-pound class Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). This seems to be in the exact same location the B-1 uses when carrying the AN/AAQ-33 Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod.

In a statement, the Air Force explained that “the unique pylon is designed to carry a variety of standard and emerging weapons with seamless transition, allowing for maximum agility while also strengthening weapon test infrastructure. While the B-1B was chosen due to aircraft availability at Edwards, the LAM can be modified for attachment to a variety of other aircraft if the need were to arise.”

The U.S. Air Force’s B-1B Lancer bomber has begun flying with a new type of external pylons that will be able to accommodate a wide range of munitions, including larger weapons and possibly hypersonic cruise missiles. The testing of the Load Adaptable Modular Pylon, or LAM reflects the continued importance of the B-1 to the Air Force. Although its retirement is now planned, the bomber remains valuable especially for its ability to carry large and diverse payloads.
Photo by Richard Gonzales/412th Test Wing (USAF)

Air Force photo by James West

A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, Feb. 7, to conduct flight tests on the Load Adaptable Modular pylon. Air Force photo by C.J. Raterman
C.J. Raterman

While the possibility of the LAM to accommodate hypersonic weapons wasn’t mentioned by the Air Force in its release, this is something that Boeing officials have mentioned in the past in relation to the pylon.

The introduction of hypersonic missiles is increasingly seen as fundamental to ensuring the B-1 remains relevant until replaced by the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, which is now under test. At the same time, several experimental air-launched hypersonic missiles have been tested, albeit with mixed results so far.

A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 419th Flight Test Squadron takes off from Edwards Air Force Base, California, Feb. 15, to conduct flight tests on the Load Adaptable Modular pylon. Air Force photo by James West
James West

While an external weapons carriage capability was a part of the plans for the B-1 in the Cold War, it subsequently fell out of favor, being removed to make the bombers compliant with New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) regulations.

More recently, the capability has been reactivated to accommodate additional weapons. Work to reactivate the B-1’s hardpoints initially focused on the carriage of up to a dozen more subsonic AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles, or AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) derivatives, in addition to 24 more of either of those weapons that fit in its internal bomb bays. The ability to carry such a large number of LRASMs would make the LAM-equipped B-1 a notably potent and unpredictable weapon in any future campaign waged against Chinese naval forces in the Asia-Pacific theater.

A 419th Flight Test Squadron B-1B carrying an inert AGM-158 JASSM during a demonstration flight. USAF

For hypersonic weapons, which are dimensionally large, external carriage also makes a lot of sense.

Boeing has said in the past that the B-1 will eventually be fitted with six LAMs, each of which can carry two missiles, and the company has said these will include two distinct types: boost-glide vehicles and air-breathing missiles.

The Cold War-era B-1B was designed with six external hardpoints, each of which could carry two examples of the nuclear-tipped AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile, or ALCM.

B-1B with cruise missile mounting racks attached to external hardpoints during testing. USAF

In relation to LAM, Boeing has previously talked about the largest hypersonic missiles envisaged for the B-1 weighing around 5,000 pounds and being more than 20 feet long. That could suggest the AGM-183A Air-launched Rapid-Response Weapon, or ARRW was the boost-glide vehicle in question.

However, in March this year, the Air Force announced that it was canceling further work on the AGM-183A, though it would still complete the rest of its already planned ARRW flight tests. ARRW’s test record is patchy, at best and the Air Force declined to say whether the most recent known test of that design, which occurred in August, was a success or failure. At one point, it was planned that ARRW would be the USAF’s first hypersonic weapon. Nevertheless, there could still be an ARRW follow-on of some kind in the works, in the classified realm, a possibility reinforced by the continued testing of the AGM-183 after its cancelation had been announced.

A live AGM-183A ARRW under the wing of a B-52 bomber at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam ahead of a test over the Western Pacific earlier this year.
A live AGM-183A ARRW under the wing of a B-52 bomber at Andersen Air Force Base on Guam ahead of a test over the Western Pacific earlier this year. USAF

In the other category, air-breathing missiles, are such weapons as the Hypersonic Air-Breathing Weapon Concept, or HAWC, a scramjet vehicle, and the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile, or HACM, another program involving an air-breathing weapon that is intended to be suitable for carriage by fighter and bomber aircraft. Boeing has said that a LAM-modified B-1 would be able to carry 12 HACMs, in addition to 24 in the internal weapons bays.

To date, this is the only picture the US Air Force has released showing an actual air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile test article related to the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) program and/or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's preceding Hypersonic Airbreathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) effort.
To date, this is the only picture the U.S. Air Force has released showing an actual air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile test article related to the Hypersonic Attack Cruise Missile (HACM) program and/or the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s preceding Hypersonic Airbreathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) effort. USAF

At the same time, the LAM pylons are also intended to boost the B-1’s ability to carry existing conventional weaponry, too, including 12 of the aforementioned JASSM cruise missiles and their derivatives. Taking the example of a smaller weapon, the LAM modification would potentially allow a single B-1 to carry no fewer than 144 Small Diameter Bombs (SDBs), 48 of them externally.

With the LAM now in testing, it will have to be fully integrated and proven. After that, captive-carry trials of representative payloads should begin, followed by the release of inert weapons, and finally end-to-end testing.

A B-1B bomber showcased with some of its weapons options during a first-ever B-1 munitions capability layout photo shoot at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, April 5, 2011. U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Darcie L. Ibidapo

All this depends on budgets, however, which are currently notably stretched, something that is already having an effect on plans for major Air Force programs.

The LAM modification — especially as it relates to hypersonic missiles, but also subsonic standoff weapons like JASSM — also helps ensure the B-1 is still a valuable asset despite the imposition of limitations on its operating envelope. After many combat hours over Afghanistan and the Middle East, the fleet has accrued much wear and tear, leading to restrictions on flying at low altitudes.

B-1B Lancer aircraft nicknamed “Lancelot,” touches down at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Feb. 8, 2024. “Lancelot” is being regenerated to the active bomber fleet after previously being retired to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. Photo was redacted for security purposes.
A B-1B Lancer aircraft nicknamed Lancelot touches down at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Feb. 8, 2024. Lancelot was regenerated to the active bomber fleet after previously being retired to the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona. USAF U.S. Air Force photo by Clayton Cummins

Although B-1 force has been downsized from 62 to 45 airframes in recent years, helping to distribute funds to other priorities and use retired B-1s to provide spare parts, the Air Force has also returned previously stored Lancers to operational readiness to replace others lost in accidents. This is part of meeting strict legal requirements set by Congress for the service to maintain a fleet of 45 B-1Bs.

Boeing concept art showing a B-1B fitted with LAM pylons carrying air-breathing hypersonic missiles. Boeing

Although the B-52H Stratofortress has so far been at the forefront of Air Force hypersonic missile tests, the signs are that the service increasingly wants to hand at least some of this over to the B-1, which will be especially important as the B-52 undergoes an ambitious re-engining program. With the Load Adaptable Modular Pylon now on the horizon, the B-1 should be able to emerge as the interim hypersonic weapons carrier that the Air Force has been campaigning for.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

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Thomas Newdick

Staff Writer

Thomas is a defense writer and editor with over 20 years of experience covering military aerospace topics and conflicts. He’s written a number of books, edited many more, and has contributed to many of the world’s leading aviation publications. Before joining The War Zone in 2020, he was the editor of AirForces Monthly.