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B-1B 86-0115 from the Kansas ANG was flying a Global Power mission on July 21st 1999 when it was forced to divert into Mildenhall with engine problems, where it remained until July 27th.

B-1Bs 85-0083 and 85-0091 of the 77th BS returned to Fairford on July 22nd 1999, this time to take part in the Royal International Air Tattoo. They departed on the 26th.

In July 1999 the USAF Weapons School B-1 Division at Ellsworth AFB added JDAM training to its syllabus. As a result the Weapons School will be able to expose students to a new weapon prior to its operational debut with all B-1 units. In early October 1999, as a part of the training syllabus, seven live GBU-31 JDAMs were released against simulated munitions bunkers on the Nellis AFB range complex. After the live drop, students reloaded simulated munitions and exercised an improved self-targetting mode of the B-1B's radar to derive targetting information which they then used to dynamically re-target GBU-31s against previously non-surveyed targets.

Four B-1Bs from the 37th Bomb Squadron, 28th Bomb Wing took part in exercise Bright Star '99 in Egypt during October 1999. During this exercise a JDAM-equivalent weapon was released from a B-1, the first time this had happened outside the US.

The 28th Bomb Squadron at Dyess AFB received its first Block D aircraft, 86-0105, in late November 1999. Three more will be delivered by the end of January 2000.

Aircrew from the 37th Bomb Squadron flew ten non-stop 21.5-hour missions between February 14th and 18th 2000 as part of a series of Global Power missions called Coronet Spider 28. The missions consisted of daily two-ship sorties that flew a circuit from Ellsworth to the Alaskan Yukon Range, south to Hawaii, and east over the southwestern US back to Ellsworth.

During Coronet Spider 28 37th BW B-1Bs flew more than 87000 nm (158000 km) and took on more than 1100 tonnes of fuel in-flight.

Aircrews from the 77th Bomb Squadron participated in an All Services Combat Identification Evaluation Team (ASCIET) exercise from February 29th thru March 9th 2000. During the evalution, B-1Bs simulated tactics of Russian Tu-22M Backfire bombers attacking US and British ships off the Florida coast, and US Army Patriot missile batteries at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Two two-ship missions a day were flown from Ellsworth during the evaluation.

An unidentified 7th Bomb Wing B-1B made an emergency landing at Dyess AFB on March 8th 2000 after an engine failed on takeoff.

B-1B 86-0132 from the 28th Bomb Squadron, named Oh, Hard Luck, set a milestone on May 9th 2000 as it became the first Lancer to reach 5000 flight hours. Brig Gen Joseph Stein, 7th Bomb Wing commander, and Lt Col Garret Harencak, 28th Bomb Squadron commander, were among the crew for the aircraft's 1150th flight when the 5000th hour was notched up. 86-0132 was delivered to the Air Force on February 29th 1988.

As the oldest aircraft (in terms of flight hours), 86-0132 will undergo a special inspection at the OCALC at Tinker AFB. The results of this will provide the Air Force and Boeing with insights for any future development of the B-1.

The B-1 fleet had accumulated more than 339000 hours by May 9th 2000. The aircraft with the second highest number of hours (4600+) is 85-0072, also a 7th Bomb Wing aircraft.

Two B-1Bs from the Kansas ANG, 85-0060 and 85-0069, arrived at RAF Mildenhall on May 25th 2000 to take part in the base's Air Fete. 85-0060 departed on May 30th, but 85-0069's departure was delayed due to mechanical problems.

The Air Force re-activated the 13th Bomb Squadron as a B-1B Lancer unit at Dyess AFB on June 14th 2000. This squadron was first formed on the same date in 1917, and it received 49 awards and battle ribbons in both world wars, Korea and Vietnam. It was last operational with the B-57 Canberra bomber during the Vietnam War, when it operated from Thailand.

The 13th BS will be equipped with 6 B-1Bs and 230 personnel. It will support the 7th Bomb Wing in providing combat-ready aircrews, aircraft and maintenance personnel for AEF taskings.

Two B-1Bs from the 9th Bomb Squadron flew a 22.5-hour non-stop Global Power mission on July 11 - 12th 2000. During the course of this mission the B-1s tested the air defence capabilities of the Hawaii Air National Guard, and each aircraft dropped a 500lb BDU-50 inert weapon on fixed targets on an Alaskan bombing range.

According to information obtained at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2000 (at which 86-0097 was present), between April 1st and June 7th 1999 the 77th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Fairford flew 100 combat missions and dropped 5033 bombs (2.6 million lb).

On July 28th 2000 B-1B 86-0133 was named "Memphis Belle" in a ceremony at Robins AFB, Georgia. The aircraft, operated by the 116th Bomb Wing of the Georgia Air National Guard, bears the name of the famous B-17 which carried out over 25 missions over Europe in WW2.

Two B-1Bs from the 77th Bomb Squadron (86-0095 and 86-0111) made the type's first appearance in sub-Saharan Africa when they attended the South African International Airshow at Waterkloof AFB on September 8th/9th 2000.

B-1B 86-0094 of the 37th Bomb Squadron suffered a mishap at Ellsworth AFB on October 22nd 2000, when a faulty fuel pump caused fuel to migrate from the forward section to the aft section of the aircraft, thus exceeding c.g. limits and causing the aircraft to tip on its tail. Damage was reported to be minor (image of 86-0094 sitting on its tail).

Four B-1Bs staged through Mildenhall in early May 2001 en route to Oman. They were 86-0103 and 86-0135 from the 7th BW at Dyess AFB, and 86-0121 and 86-0139 from the 366th Wing at Mountain Home AFB.

Two 9th BS/7th BW aircraft appeared at the Mildenhall Air Fete 2001 from May 25th thru 28th. They were 86-0103 and 86-0110.

Two B-1Bs from the 77th Bomb Squadron (86-0096 and 86-0113) deployed to RAF Waddington on June 22nd 2001 to take part in exercise Clean Hunter. They also appeared in the base's air show on June 30th/July 1st.

The last B-1B to receive the Block D upgrade left Tinker AFB in June 2001.

B-1B 86-0104 from the 34th BS/366th Wing arrived at RAF Fairford on July 12th 2001 to take part in a ceremony to mark the reopening of the base after a 13-month rebuild of the runway and north taxiway. It departed the following day.

Two B-1Bs from the 34th BS, 86-0104 and 86-0138, arrived at RAF Cottesmore on July 26th 2001 to take part in the Royal International Air Tattoo on July 28th/29th. The crew of 86-0138 put on a spirited flying display on the 29th, during which the aircraft was rolled through 360 degrees.

Two 9th Bomb Squadron crews conducted the first drop of JDAM weapons from Dyess-based B-1 bombers on August 14th 2001. Four JDAMs were dropped from an altitude of 31,000 feet over test ranges in Utah. JDAM has an advertised CEP of 13 meters, about 42.5 feet. The two Dyess crews were within that range, with the farthest strike being 27 feet from its target and the closest at 13 feet. Another crew that flew a JDAM mission on August 21st made a direct hit on the target.

B-1Bs will get strengthened horizontal stalilizers over the next six years, after inspections revealed cracks in tailplane substructures over most of the B-1 fleet. The stabilizers, which measure 25 feet long, 8 feet wide and 1 foot deep, are made of aluminium skins with 25 titanium spars running lengthwise and a number of aluminium ribs crossing the spars. During the repair, the spars and ribs are replaced with new, sturdier parts. The first of two prototypes, which entered PDM in November 2000, rejoined the fleet on August 16th 2001, with the second following closely behind.

During Agugust 2001 the 7th Bomb Wing's monthly mission capable rate (MICAP) exceeded the published Air Combat Command standard of 67% for B-1 aircraft. The fiscal year ’01 interim goal set by the ACC commander for the B-1 community is 63%. The MICAP rate measures the percentage of aircraft that are available and ready to perform the mission.

At least six B-1Bs (five from the 77th BS and one from the 34th BS) deployed to Diego Garcia on September 19th 2001 in response to the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11th.

Starting on October 7th 2001, B-1Bs from the 77th BS, operating out of Diego Garcia, carried out strikes on targets in Afghanistan as part of Operation "Enduring Freedom". The weapons used were probably GBU-32 2000lb JDAMs.

A B-1B from the 419th Test Squadron at Edwards AFB began a new round of electronic warfare testing in the Benefield Anechoic Facility in mid-October 2001. The B-1B is being fitted with an improved electronic combat system, which is a combination of parts of the existing DAS, a new radar warning receiver and the Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasure System, a joint USAF-US Navy program. The testing program is expected to be completed in mid-November 2001.