Sam Iacobellis, Whose B-1 Bomber Recast the Cold War, Dies at 87

Sam Iacobellis, an engineer whose development and lightning delivery of 100 B-1 supersonic stealth bombers to President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s was credited with speeding the collapse of the Soviet Union, died on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was 87.

The cause was complications of a stroke, his son, who is also named Sam, said.

The B-1 contract, with Rockwell International for $20.5 billion (more than $50 billion in today’s dollars), was a cornerstone of Reagan’s strategy to end the Cold War by engaging the Soviets in a costly — critics said profligate — arms race that would threaten them with bankruptcy.