The Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber may wind up flying for close to 100 years, given the extent and longevity of ongoing upgrades to the Vietnam-era classic bomber. Despite their age, theWASHINGTON — At 70 years old, the venerable B-52 Stratofortress is getting a major facelift, what one Air Force official recently called the “largest modification program in its history
It’s official now: the upgraded B-52 bomber will be the B-52J. “Any B-52H aircraft modified with the new commercial engines and associated subsystems are designated as B-52J,” the Air Force
The iconic B-52 Stratofortress bomber has been a mainstay of the Air Force’s fleet since it was first introduced during the height of the Cold War. But, with the average B-52 now at 60 years old and increasingly showing its age, the bomber is getting a fresh lease on life — in the form of a new slate of F130 engines from Rolls-Royce North The B-52H bomber nick named “Wise Guy,” sits in post dock nearing completion of its regeneration back to active service, Nov. 19, 2020. The bomber sat in the desert for 10 years at the 309th More than 30 years after the lumbering aircraft first rolled off the production line and 18 years after they tramautized Hanoi in the Christmas raids of 1972, Air Force B-52 bombers are hammering thmC.