Analysis: The B-52 Could Serve for 80 Years

An amazing bomber.

Kyle Mizokami [2]

Today only the B-52H model remains in service, with -G models shredded in order to comply with arms-control agreements. Recently the B-52H force wasstripped of the nuclear gravity bomb role[3]and now carry nuclear ALCMs or conventional ordnance. The bomber is expected to remain in service at least through the 2020s until it is finally replaced by the B-21 Raider. The B-52 could remain in service through the 2040s if necessary, and there areproposals to re-engine the aircraft[4]to make them easier to maintain and more economical to fly. With necessary upgrades, the B-52H fleet could remain in continuous service for eighty years.

The United States Air Force fields a force of three heavy strategic bombers: the B-2 Spirit, the B-1 Lancer and the B-52H Stratofortress. In service for more than fifty years, the B-52H has remained remarkably relevant for a half century and fought in wars from Vietnam to Afghanistan. The aging bomber, originally designed to drop nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union and other intercontinental targets, could very well fly on into the 2030s and beyond.

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The B-52 bomber arose from a U.S. Air Force requirement for a long-range jet-powered bomber. The rapid deterioration of relations between the United States and Soviet Union made the USSR a threat and potential enemy, and the USAF needed a bomber capable of flying to targets in Eurasia and back again.