Above left:
Maintainers
load GBU-54
500lb Laser
Joint Direct
Attack
Munitions. The
OT tail code
stands for
operational
test.
Left: The two
337th TES B-1s
pitch out from
the cameraship
during a test
fl ight.
Right top to
bottom:
Co-locating
the operational
testers with
the weapons
squadron
was a direct
infl uence on
the B-1B getting
the 500lb
JDAM soon
after it became
available.
Operational
test and WPS
Lancers on the
fl ightline at
Dyess.Another aspect of the co-located
squadrons is aircraft availability. The 337th
has two assigned aircraft, while the 77th
must borrow whatever jet is available
from the host 7th Bomb Wing. Often, a
weapons school crew will use a test jet,
getting a rst-hand look at new upgrades
that will soon reach the B-1 eet. ‘We like
to get them spun up on the software as
soon as possible’, comments Tull, ‘because
they are some of the best resources toensure that any new test item is working
the way an operational crew would like.
We like them to y our aircraft as often as
possible, so we can get their feedback.’
The B-1 community has been constantly
deployed for 14 years now. The jet and
tactics have evolved considerably in
that time and will continue to do so for
the foreseeable future, thanks to what
happens in a small building on the Dyess
ight line.‘I’ll give you an example of the
relationship between the 337th TES and
77th WPS’, says McClung. ‘When we rst
got JDAM [Joint Direct Attack Munition]
in the B-1, we got the 2,000lb GBU-31.
Because of the relationship between the
77th and 337th, when the 500lb GBU-38
was elded three months later, we had
it. That’s because the weapons school
was doing the research and analysis of
problem sets and realized that we could
really use a 500lb JDAM. They were
communicating that in a timely enough
manner to the test squadron, who then
told the contractor — Boeing — that we
wanted it in the next upgrade kit for the
B-1. Because the weapons school said
we needed it, we got a software block
tested and released for the GBU-38 in
the jet only three months after the bomb
was elded.’
The nature of the advanced tactics
development with the weapons school
squadron, being co-located with the
test unit, means the two parties can
literally step into each other’s o ces and
chew the fat when it comes to problem-
solving. ‘While they’re testing it, we’ll
jump in their [test] jet and y with it as
well,’ says McClung. ‘They have the latest
intel on how we plan on using it. While
it’s still being tested, we evolve our tactics
based on what they’re testing. That
relationship is critical and a unique bonus
to what we have here at Dyess.’35
30-35 B1 Weapons Test C.indd 35 19/04/2018 15:43