The Boeing firm had made a name for itself beginning with its aircraft developments throughout the interwar years following World War 1. Upon its inception into the USAF inventory, the B-52 became America's first long-range, swept-wing heavy bomber and currently maintains the title of longest serving bomber in United States military history. The Stratofortress aircraft has evolved into a multi-role aircraft equally capable of dedicated bombing, strategic bombing, anti-shipping, nuclear warfare, mine-laying, close-support, reconnaissance, electronic warfare and maritime surveillance sorties. More recently, the B-52 has seen combat actions in the 2001 assault on Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and the 2003 Invasion of Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom). The massive aircraft served throughout the heightened periods of the Cold War as a nuclear deterrent, as a dedicated bomber and reconnaissance platform in the Vietnam War and as a carpet-bombing nightmare for the Iraqi Army in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. He is the author of the graphic novels War Fix, War Is Boringand Machete Squad.The B-52 has been the preeminent American heavy bomber of the last 54 years. “Take good care of her … until we need her again.”ĭavid Axe serves as Defense Editor of the National Interest. “AMARG, this is 60-034, a Cold Warrior that stood sentinel over America from the darkest days of the Cold War to the global fight against terror,” someone at the Arizona base scrawled on one of Wise Guy’s panels before the bomber departed for Louisiana. The B-52s likely would be first in line to carry any new hypersonic missiles the Air Force develops. A B-52H with TF-33 engines can carry 35 tons of bombs and missiles as far as 4,500 miles without aerial refueling at a top speed of 650 miles per hour. The goal in replacing the engines is to improve the B-52's fuel-efficiency by at least 20 percent while maintaining its ceiling and take-off performance. “All crew stations on the aircraft will be digitally linked, enabling information sharing while in flight, greatly improving situational awareness and mission flexibility.” “CONECT gives the B-52 a digital ‘backbone,’ enabling aircrew to receive digital tasking messages and real time intelligence and threat data from multiple sources,” the Air Force explained. To keep the old bombers viable, the Air Force is spending $32 billion replacing their TF-33 engines and, as part of the Combat Network Communications Technology upgrade, rewiring their bomb bays for “smart” weapons. They instead would launch cruise missiles from beyond the range of air defenses. The military does not plan for the old bombers to penetrate enemy defenses during a high-tech war. Simple, durable and cheap to operate, the B-52s are the Air Force’s long-range, missile-haulers. Under any likely scenario, the B-52 endures. Any expansion of bomber force likely would involve the flying branch buy more than 100 new B-21s. The Air Force wants to grow from nine bomber squadrons in 2019 to 14 by 2025. The result in the 2040s would be a force of no fewer than 175 bombers composed of factory-fresh B-21s and 80-year-old B-52s. Meanwhile, the service would upgrade 76 B-52s and buy at least 100 new B-21 stealth bombers. The Air Force plans in the 2030s to retire the maintenance-intensive B-1s and, a few years later, would also retire the “silver-bullet” fleet of B-2s. Even though they are the oldest of the Air Force’s heavy bombers, the branch aims to keep the B-52s longer than it does other current types. Today the B-52 flies alongside 20 B-2 stealth bombers dating from the 1990s and 62 1980s-vintage B-1s. The fleet in the early 2000s stabilized at its current size. The Air Force by the mid-1990s had retired all older B-52s, leaving just the H-models in service. They were the ultimate B-52 model and featured more powerful and efficient engines than previous models possessed.
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