US Air Force Invests $15 Billion to Upgrade B-52 Bombers
The US Air Force is planning a significant upgrade to its B-52 Stratofortress bombers, with an investment of at least $15 billion.
The US Air Force aims to equip the B-52 Stratofortress bombers, originally from the 1960s, with new engines and radar systems to keep them operational for the next three decades. This major investment is driven by the upcoming retirement of the B-1 and B-2 bombers in the early 2030s.
The upgrade plan includes replacing the B-52’s engines with those from Rolls-Royce and installing new radar systems from Raytheon. However, this process faces challenges due to high costs. Brian Knight, Deputy Program Director for B-52 Materials, revealed that the estimated upgrade cost has surged from $2.5 billion to $15 billion. He also mentioned that the Air Force is refining its cost estimates and awaiting a new proposal from Boeing.
The engine replacement requires extensive maintenance of the B-52 itself, with radar replacement costs rising from $1 billion to $3.3 billion.
From 1952 to 1962, the US acquired a total of 744 B-52s, all manufactured by Boeing. Over 70 years later, these bombers continue to receive upgrades and improvements. The most modern B-52 can carry up to 32 tons of weapons and fly approximately 14,080 km without in-flight refueling.
Currently, the US Air Force has 76 B-52s in service, and with the latest upgrades, these bombers could remain operational until 2050. In late May, the US deployed four B-52s to Europe to explore future combat strategies, focusing on regions like Crimea and Kaliningrad.
According to Jeff Schogol of The National Interest, many B-52s under the Strategic Air Command (SAC) have remained unused, preserving their airframes and enabling them to outlast their successors, the B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit. Although the supersonic B-1 partially replaced the B-52, maintenance issues have limited its capabilities, leading to its early retirement by 2036.
