President Ronald Reagan restarted the Lancer program in 1981, but the modified B-1B was redesigned to be a low level penetrating bomber that had a maximum speed of about Mach 1.25. The new B-1B started deliveries in 1986 and by the time the 100th and last aircraft was delivered in 1988, the Air Force had already concluded that the jet would not survive against the Soviet Union’s fearsome air defenses.
The original B-1A was a Mach 2.2 capable high altitude strategic bomber designed to deliver a nuclear payload into the heart of what was then the Soviet Union. However, as Moscow’s defenses against high altitude aircraft stiffened and Washington embarked on the development of cruise missiles and stealth technology particularly the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit—then President Jimmy Carter canceled the Lancer project in 1977.