An eight-year project to install the Integrated Battle Station on the B-1B Lancer fleet has been completed ahead of schedule. Sixty aircraft went through the modification process that began in late 2012 and was completed in September 2020.
The Integrated Battle Station was developed as three separate modifications: Fully Integrated Data Link, Vertical Situational Display Unit and Central Integrated Test System.
“During development, it became obvious that modifying the same aircraft three times would be detrimental to aircraft availability and would create numerous aircraft configurations,” said William Barnes, B-1B Systems Program Manager, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. “Thus Integrated Battle Station was born.”
The Integrated Battle Station was the largest, most complicated modification ever performed on the B-1 and it gave the flight deck a whole new look.