(Washington, D.C.) Will the B-52 fly forever? What about the B1-B? The Air Force is clear that it does not have enough bombers to meet combatant commander demand, yet the service operates several decades-old legacy bombers and there is only one new platform now emerging .. the B-21.
B-21
Perhaps this is why the planned number of B-21s for the Air Force has jumped up to at least 145, if not more.
The B-21 may be such a versatile bomber that it succeeds in meeting the mission requirements otherwise performed by multiple aircraft.
The B-21 may be the only newly arriving bomber platform for the Air Force, yet it will not fly alone, because it will be joined for decades into the future by the newly upgraded yet classic B-52 bomber.
B-52 Bomber Modernization
Certainly seems realistic that the time-tested Vietnam-era B-52 bomber could serve for as long as 100 years, given the scope and reach of longstanding upgrades to the platform.
The aircraft, once known for massive carpet bombing along high-value enemy target areas, is now a cyber-resilient, EW-armed, hypersonic-missile firing, digitally-networked bomber equipped with a new generation of air dropped bombs and precision-guidance cruise missiles.
It could be called a transformation, so significant in fact that the classic B-52 bomber may ultimately fly for a century.
