B-1 Bomber escorted by F-15s

This is my free coloring pages blog. 

Today's new drawing is of a B-1 Bomber and two Fighter Aircraft. 

B-1 Bomber escorted by F-15s 

The B-1 Bomber is a large bomber operated by the United States Air Force. It has the highest payload of any bomber currently in the Air Force.  It can carry up to 75,000 lbs or 34,000 kg of munitions - and that is just internally. It has a wingspan of 137 feet when extended. But the wings can swing to be swept back and then they are only 75 feet wide. It is 146 feet long. Fully loaded the B-1 weighs up to 470,000 lbs. 

The B-1 Bomber has a range of 7,500 miles or 12,000 km. It has a maximum speed of 900 mph... or about Mach 1.25. That means 1.25 x the speed of sound... or 1,148 kph. By the way, the range can be extended by mid-air refuling. 

This B-1 is being excorted by 2 F-15 Fighters. The F-15 has never lost an air to air fight ever. It is now being produced in a new and modern form called the F-15EX. This newest version has all the bells and whistles. It has modern radar, fly by wire controls, etc. etc. That etc. includes an amazingly fast and powerful computer and digital displays. 

The F-15EX is about 64 feet long. It has a wingspan of about 43 feet. It has a top speed of Mach 2.5 or 1,900 mph or 2,655 kph. So it can fly 2.5 x the speed of sound. The speed of sound is 761 mph at sea level. Of course that speed changes depending upon the elevation - density of the air.  The F-15EX is the fastest USA fighter aircraft. It may be the fastest fighter jet in the world. 

The B-1 was built years ago. It is still in service, but althought it IS supersonic, AKA very fast, it is not a stealth aircraft. The F-15 was introduced five decades ago, but the newest version is being built now and has many modern systems. The F-15EX will be in service for many years to come. The B-1 will probably be retired sometime around 2035. However, the even older B-52 is being upgraded and will continue in service many more years. I wonder if the B-1 might get modernized rather than retired. Afterall, the B-52 is still around and it carries 5,000 lbs less payload.  That is true except there is a conjecture about the B-1 Lancer being able to possibly carry up to 125,000 lbs of armament of bombs and missiles. 

That reminds me. The B-1 in called the Lancer. The newest F-15 or the F-15EX is called the Eagle II. And in this drawing the aircraft are flying above the clouds where they can fly the fastest. Of course the Eagle II fighters are escorting the Lancer so the fighters would not be going their top speed - which is about 2 x the top speed of the bomber. 

NOTE: This drawing is found in printable form by clicking on the button labeled "Vehicles and Military Vehicles. Then scroll down to the bottom of the list for this title. IF you are accessing this site in January or Feburtary 2026 then this drawing's title will be at or near the bottom of this list. Have fun coloring.