The USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) was aware of these developments and had begun moving its bombers to low-level penetration even before the U-2 incident.

The XB-70 Valkyrie was chosen in 1957 to replace the Hustler, but suffered as a result of a switch in doctrine from high to low-altitude flying profilesīy the late 1950s, however, anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) could threaten high-altitude aircraft, as demonstrated by the 1960 downing of Gary Powers' U-2. The Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider is to begin replacing the B-1B after 2025 all B-1s are planned to be retired by 2036. and NATO military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. It first served in combat during Operation Desert Fox in 1998 and again during the NATO action in Kosovo the following year.

With the disestablishment of SAC and its reassignment to the Air Combat Command in 1992, the B-1B was converted for a conventional bombing role. By 1988, all 100 aircraft had been delivered. Dubbed the B-1B, deliveries of the new variant began in 1985 the plane formally entered service with Strategic Air Command (SAC) as a nuclear bomber the following year. The B-1A design was altered, reducing top speed to Mach 1.25 at high altitude, increasing low-altitude speed to Mach 0.96, extensively improving electronic components, and upgrading the airframe to carry more fuel and weapons. The program was restarted in 1981, largely as an interim measure due to delays in the B-2 stealth bomber program. The program was canceled in 1977, after the B-1A prototypes had been built. The combination of the high cost of the aircraft, the introduction of the AGM-86 cruise missile that flew the same basic speed and distance, and early work on the B-2 stealth bomber reduced the need for the B-1. This version had a top speed of Mach 2.2 at high altitude and the ability to fly for long distances at Mach 0.85 at very low altitudes. After a long series of studies, Rockwell International (now part of Boeing) won the design contest for what emerged as the B-1A. The B-1 was first envisioned in the 1960s as a platform that would combine the Mach 2 speed of the B-58 Hustler with the range and payload of the B-52, and was meant to ultimately replace both bombers.

Air Force fleet along with the B-2 Spirit and the B-52 Stratofortress as of 2023. It is one of three strategic bombers serving in the U.S. It is commonly called the 'Bone' (from 'B-One').

The Rockwell B-1 Lancer is a supersonic variable-sweep wing, heavy bomber used by the United States Air Force. North American Rockwell/Rockwell International

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