B-1 bombers retired by Air Force sent to boneyard at Arizona air base

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Over a dozen B-1 bombers decommissioned by the Air Force have been flown to a so-called boneyard in Arizona.

The last of the 13 bombers destined for storage or disposal at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson arrived Thursday after being flown from a base in California, an Air Force statement said.

The Air Force decommissioned a total of 17 B-1s, with the other four going to various locations for testing and other purposes.

With the retirements of 17 of the B-1 bombers, 45 others remain in the Air Force’s active inventory.

In addition, four of the B-1s sent to Davis-Monthan will be stored in a manner that would allow them to put back into use if needed.

The Air Force said retiring some of its B-1s will allow it to give more attention to remaining B-1s to increase their readiness while the service transitions to a bomber fleet consisting of only two types of aircraft — rebuilt B-52s and a new model, the B-21.