A B-1B Lancer has returned to active service after the bomber was sent to the Arizona desert in 2021 to be cannibalized for spare parts, U.S. Air Force officials said this week.

The jet had been in storage at David-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, a facility commonly known as The Boneyard, where it joined hundreds of other military aircraft waiting to be scrapped, used to provide parts for other planes, or brought back to life.

The B-1 bomber, once nicknamed Rage, spent nearly two years at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma undergoing intensive maintenance operations, including systems overhauls, structural repairs, and the replacement of more than 500 components, Air Force officials said Wednesday.

More than 200 Air Force service members and civilians from the 567th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron worked extended shifts to get the bomber back in the air.

“The maintainers of the 567th support our warfighters at unprecedented levels,” said Steven Mooy, the unit’s master scheduler. “They overcome so many obstacles and work together to accomplish repairs that nobody else in the bomber community could do.”

Jason Justice, a technical analyst with Tinker’s B-1 Systems Program Office, was part of the team that sent the bomber into storage in 2021. He helped lead the mission to bring Rage back into service.

“I’ve been on this jet for 32 years,” the retired Air Force veteran said. “To see it come back and still support the warfighter is a great feeling.”

After the repairs were completed, pilots from Tinker’s 10th Flight Test Squadron flew the stripped-down, bare-metal bomber over Oklahoma to confirm it was ready for duty. Then it moved to the paint shop where crews worked around the clock to prepare the B-1 for final delivery, Air Force officials said.

The B-1 bomber, now named Apocalypse II, arrived at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas last month to serve as the flagship for the 7th Bomb Wing.