Why the Boeing B-52 Bomber Will Still Fly When It’s 100 Years Old – Jalopnik

The Boeing B-52 is on track to become the first jet-powered aircraft to reach 100 years of continuous service, a milestone it will reach in the 1950s, thanks in part to its strategic reinvention and remarkable engineering – which also explains why it has those weird skin wrinkles. But the main reason the B-52 will still be flying at 100 years old is that the bombers that were supposed to replace it haven’t fully done so yet and, from the looks of it, won’t do so anytime soon.

For example, the Air Force planned to buy a fleet of 244 B-1 Lancer jets as successors to the B-52, but was only able to field about 100. Then there was the stealthy B-2 Spirit, which did not scale well, with only 21 aircraft delivered of the expected 132. Both jets relied on complex technologies, were expensive to maintain and had poor operational readiness.

The B-52, on the other hand, has remained available in large numbers and still offers strong combat capabilities. For example, in 2019, more than 66% of the B-52 fleet was combat ready on any given day; this compares favorably with the B-1’s 46% and the B-2’s 60% mission capable, per Forbes.

Even as America’s next stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider, is only now entering development, the Air Force is preparing to field just two bombers: at least 100 B-21 jets and 76 modernized versions of its oldest warhorse, the B-52. Heather Penney, a retired F-16 pilot, said Defense news that the Air Force is “asking geriatric B-52s to be that backbone while we wait for the B-21.”

The reason the B-52 can stay in the air even if it’s a century old isn’t just because the replacements aren’t ready yet: The Air Force is overhauling the plane from nose to tail.

A $48.6 billion modernization effort is underway, and it includes the installation of the new Rolls-Royce F130 engines to replace the 1960s-era Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines, in what the Air Force calls the “Commercial Engine Replacement Program.” These engines have lower fuel consumption, a longer range and less maintenance.

But the engines are only part of the effort. The B-52 also gets a new active electronically scanned array radar, improved communications systems and digital cockpit displays. The Air Force estimates that flight testing of B-52s equipped with the new Rolls-Royce engine will begin in 2028, marking the beginning of a new era.

Despite these upgrades, no B-52 aircraft will actually be 100 years old by 2050. The type will serve for a century, but the aircraft still flying were built in the early 1960s and none of the 1950s airframes are still in the air.

Even as the B-52 prepares to fly into the 2050s, the Air Force is quite clear about the risks of relying on a Cold War airframe in the modern nuclear world. The bomber’s mission numbers have fallen from a respectable 78% in 2012 to 59% in 2022, and because of its size and age, crews routinely discover problems during preflight checks.

Meanwhile, parts have become difficult to obtain because manufacturers long ago stopped supplying components for engines and electronics from the 1960s. The Ministry of Defense has warned that in wartime and without modernization, as much as 40% of the future bomber fleet could not meet operational requirements.

Despite its age, the B-52 remains adaptable. It is one of the few platforms that can lay naval mines, launch hypersonic weapons or carry out 100-hour missions if necessary. That’s why the Air Force’s current bomber strategy – which focuses on the B-21 and B-52 – is entirely dependent on the success of the Stratofortress overhaul. If ongoing upgrades to engines, radar and avionics fail, the service risks losing a significant portion of its bomber fleet.

Yet the Air Force has few alternatives. Experts like Penney argue that the service should upgrade the B-52 because “its long-range strike capability is absolutely non-negotiable.” Until the B-21 fleet is at full strength, the Cold War-built bomber remains indispensable.