On December 23rd the first prototype B-1 bomber made its first test flight. The B-1 was designed to repalce the aging B-52's. The B-1 has swing wing and while physically smaller then the B-52's it can carry four time the payload as the larger plane. The plane had many opponents who claimed that in a day of intercontinental missiles and massive air defense systems the plane was anachronistic. The plane reemerged during the Reagan administration as the B-1B when it deployed carrying air launched cruise missiles.
