The overhauled bomber could face off against familiar Cold War-era adversaries in Russia and China.
As the United States military has shifted its strategic focus from fighting insurgents to facing down China and Russia, it has started leaning on a Cold War-era relic to advance its objectives: the venerable B-52 Stratofortress.
The B-52 has a massive 185-foot wingspan—about two-thirds the length of a football field. It weighs over 92 tons but still has the engine power to reach high subsonic speeds and altitudes of 50,000 feet.
The 60-year-old bomber has a new lease on life thanks to some pretty impressive cutting-edge upgrades that are being paired to its sturdy and resilient airframe. In many ways, it is a completely new aircraft.
There are currently 76 Stratofortresses in operation, but the extensive upgrades will increase the weapon-carrying capacity of the fleet by the equivalent of another 22 bombers.
New Engines—Eight of Them
Regarding engine capacity, there will be big changes to the aircraft’s gas-guzzling engines. The bomber has eight engines grouped into two pods on each wing. Each engine is capable of 17,000 pounds of thrust.
The Air Force is currently examining bids from the world’s top engine-makers for replacements that could have greater thrust, require less maintenance, reduce emissions and operate more quietly. The military requires that the new engines provide a 30 percent greater range, reducing the need for airborne refueling, and be tough enough to serve the aircraft for the rest of its service life.
However, putting modern engines on such an old airframe could prove to be tricky. Structural stresses could be hard to predict and appear in unexpected areas. Creating new nacelles for the engines could disrupt the airflow on control mechanisms, such as flaps, and it could be difficult to integrate digital engine operation with the B-52’s ancient hydromechanical engine controls. If the new engines differ significantly from the existing TF33 engines, the aircraft will have to be recertified—potentially adding costs and delays to the project.
“Ideally, what it needs is an engine that mimics the thrust and dimensions of the legacy engine while offering greater fuel efficiency and reliability,” Aerospace Analyst Loren Thompson said.
A Modernized Communications System
Another notable upgrade is to the bomber’s communications array. The aircraft will feature the Combat Network Communications Technology (COMECT) communications upgrade that will completely overhaul the existing patchwork comms technologies. The Cold War-era plane will now be decked out with new radios, laptops, digital color displays, faster and more powerful computing processes, and high-capacity connecting wires and cables. These components will be stronger and hardened against enemy jamming and interference. These technologies will enable the crew to receive and analyze reams of intelligence data, letting them adjust dynamically to a changing battlefield rather than be stuck attacking predetermined targets.
State-of-the-Art Radar
The B-52 bomber has also been receiving new radar to replace the plane’s archaic AN/APQ-166 radar, which is a mishmash of analog and mechanical systems prone to frequent malfunction and costly maintenance. The new radar system will include greatly enhanced electronics that feature electronic warfare systems. The aircraft is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) solid-state radar that lets it detect more targets farther away, on the ground and at sea. It also gives the bomber the capability of engaging multiple targets at the same time. The radar is based on technologies found in the Navy’s F/A-18 Hornet and F-15E Strike Eagle. These components could end up changing the shape of the B-52’s nose as well as reduce the crew needed to operate the bomber from five to four.
More, Bigger, Smarter Bombs
Perhaps the most important upgrade will be to the Superfortress’ weapons capabilities. The bomber will have an overhauled internal weapons bay upgrade that features a digital interface and a rotary launcher. This will allow the bomb bay to be armed with eight of the latest smart Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) armaments. Those weapons previously could only be carried on the external wing pylons, which are now freed up for different armaments. The military is also planning on adding air-to-surface, extended range, decoy and jamming missiles.
As a result, the smart weapons capabilities of the Stratofortress will increase by about 66 percent. Previously, the B-52’s outdated bomb bay could only carry “dumb” bombs that didn’t have sensors or satellite guidance.
The B-52 is also being prepped for next-gen weapons that are not even in production yet. These include the Long Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile, a stealth very long-range missile expected to become operational in the late 2020s that can carry nuclear as well as conventional payloads. Another future armament could be the Air Launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) hypersonic missile, which will likely be the first hypersonic weapon in the Pentagon’s arsenal.
Extensive Testing Required
All these upgrades and overhauls, akin to a full home makeover, will require significant testing and tinkering. That is why the military is rolling out a fleet of eight B-52 test aircraft, which will test out different components—two each will test the radar, engines, weapons and other upgrades, such as the weapons bay. If a problem arises with one of the components, the other aircraft pairs will be able to continue testing without delays.
In fact, two of the fleet are restored B-52s that had been decommissioned and parked at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base “aircraft graveyard” under the hot Arizona sun for years, destined to be cannibalized for parts until their fates changed.
The B-52 stands the test of time.
Outlasting Its Successors
With these upgrades, the B-52 will effectively outlast the newer, more-advanced bombers that were supposed to replace it.
“Part of the reason the Air Force is so dependent on B-52 modernization is that other proposed successors did not work out along the way,” said Jeremiah Gertler, military aviation analyst for the Congressional Research Service.
The Air Force plans on continuing to tweak the refreshed B-52s for different mission parameters even after all the new gear is installed.
“That’s what’s wonderful about the B-52,” said Commander General Timothy M. Ray of the Air Force Global Strike Command, which is tasked with upgrading the fleet. “It’s like an iPhone. There’s always an app that you can add to it and make changes. That’s pretty exciting.”
As a result, the mainstay of the U.S. military’s bomber fleet will likely end up being an aircraft that was first deployed during the Cold War and saw active duty during the Vietnam War and Operation Desert Storm, which will be decades older than most of the crew piloting it. In a sense, it is coming full circle. With the strategic realignment of American defense policy, it will be rolled out to counter old familiar foes in Russia and China.
It is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Stratofortress’ design that it is still seeing active use today.
“Who knew that 60 years later, the damn thing would still be flying,” former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.
To learn more about the hypersonic missiles that the B-52 might carry, check out Will Hypersonic Weapons Mean a New Arms Race?.
