The legendary B-52 will be the first U.S. military aircraft capable of flying missions for a staggering 100 years.
The B-52 “Fortress” bomber is a model that dates back to the early days of the Cold War, and although it is not a dazzling bomber, it remains the mainstay of the U.S. Air Force today. The legendary B-52 will be the first military aircraft to fly missions for a staggering 100 years.
The Washington Times recently reported that the B-1B Gunfighter and B-2 Phantom bombers are known as the U.S. military’s “strategic bomber trio,” along with the B-52. The other two are decades younger than the B-52, but they will be long retired by the Time the last B-52 is retired, and the B-52 is a grandfather’s bomber, and possibly a granddaughter’s.
“Grandfathers design things that are very durable, and they take very good care of their aircraft.” Russell Stephenson, president of the B-52 Air Fortress Association and a retired colonel, said, “It’s a very flexible, durable aircraft that can carry lots and lots of stuff.”
The B-52 bomber was first deployed during the Eisenhower administration and became an armament in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It later became one of the most recognizable U.S. signature aircraft of the Vietnam War and played an important role in combat missions in the Balkans and the Middle East. More recently, the B-52 has been used in aerial “show of force” missions over the disputed South China Sea, as well as against the Islamic State group and in missions in eastern Syria.
According to Air Force records, the B-52 bomber will celebrate its 65th consecutive year of service in 2021. With equipment upgrades in 2013 and 2015, the B-52 is forecast to serve into the 2050s.
In the Western Pacific, the B-52 bomber has been a key part of the fray. That’s because Beijing seeks to expand its sphere of influence by trying to drive U.S. forces away from its shores and deploying multiple naval vessels in the South China Sea, while Washington aims to maintain its role as the preeminent military force in the region.
The secret to the B-52’s longevity
So what is the secret to the B-52’s longevity? The 1960s-era B-52H model, the current and final aircraft model in service, remains one of the most sought-after aircraft in the U.S. aviation arsenal for several reasons.
Part of the reason is its size. the B-52 is more than 40 feet tall, 159 feet long, and has a wingspan of 185 feet. It can carry 70,000 pounds of various munitions, such as bombs, mines and missiles. The cabin was spacious enough to carry even atomic bombs built before miniaturization. Each B-52 is powered by eight Pratt & Whitney Turbofan Engines (also known as turbofan engines or internal and external jet engines).
The B-52 is not the largest aircraft in the sky. A Boeing 747 is 70 feet longer and nearly 23 feet taller than the B-52H. But its large, easily modified airframe made the B-52 a reliable aircraft for a variety of missions, including as a “carrier” for launching the X-15 and X-43 experimental aircraft.
Despite its “advanced age,” the B-52 has demonstrated its youthful agility by performing every mission well.
During the Vietnam War, the B-52’s nose profile and cargo capacity earned it the nickname “BUFF,” politely referred to as “Big Ugly Fatty.
“It has a very large internal volume. You can get it to carry a lot of stuff, like sensors, all kinds of equipment, data transmission devices, radar.” Richard Hallion, an author and aviation historian, said, “You have the space, you have the ability to do that.”
Psychological impact on adversaries
Despite its “advanced age,” the B-52 has demonstrated its youthful agility by performing every mission well. Initially deployed as a long-range, high-altitude nuclear bomber, but by the mid-1960s it was flying conventional bombing missions in Vietnam, the B-52 was also deployed as a deterrent against the Viet Cong and put the enemy under unrelenting pressure through successive, devastating Operation Arc Light bombing missions.
“The B-52 bombers have always had a very powerful negative psychological impact on the enemy,” Hallion said. Hallion said, “The psychological impact is sometimes even greater than the physical impact.”
The U.S. Air Force had sent 68 B-52G bombers to the Middle East to help fight the Gulf War. The bombers dropped 27,000 tons of munitions in the air war, or 30 percent of the total tonnage of the Gulf War. Air Force officials said the B-52s flew 1,741 sorties with no combat losses and a mission qualification rate of 86.2 percent.
During the post-9/11 war in Afghanistan, U.S. Special Forces relied on B-52s flying at 40,000 feet for close air support against the Taliban. The rise of precision munitions, especially those positioned by GPS coordinates that can deliver bombs to within 10 feet of their targets, as was the case in Vietnam, the B-52 proved to be a deterrent to the enemy.
“The capability of the B-52 bomber is almost iconic.” Hallion said.
Counting the value of the B-52 and its versatility, it is the only strategic bomber in the U.S. Air Force capable of carrying both conventional and thermonuclear munitions.
Counting the B-52’s value and its versatility, it is the only strategic bomber in the U.S. Air Force capable of carrying both conventional and thermonuclear munitions.
Colonel Stephenson said, “It’s just a workhorse, and it’s been a fun experience to fly this plane.” He flew more than 1,400 combat missions as a B-52 navigator.
The B-52’s longevity and its unique shape even made the aircraft a cultural element, especially after the B-52 assumed the 1964 Hollywood black comedy “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
An amazingly adaptable and practical aircraft
Since the first B-52 rolled off the Boeing factory floor, the B-52 has undergone a series of upgrades. The Air Force now hopes to install new turbine engines on the 76 B-52Hs in operation.
Unlike the B-21 Raider, the next-generation bomber that will eventually replace the B-1 and B-2 bombers, the B-52s are not particularly fast or stealthy, which could expose them to surface-to-air missile attacks, but the development of cruise missiles allows B-52 crews to attack targets from outside enemy airspace.
“The B-52 doesn’t have to operate within the threat range that the enemy can reach.” Hallion said, “It can launch missiles hundreds or thousands of miles away and still have the same impact on the target.”
Because the B-52 has such a large munitions load, it is in some ways known simply as the “bomb truck,” but Hallion said it can do much more than that.
“We’re in an era where every aircraft can be a sensor, an information exchange platform and an intelligence integration system.” In fact, he said, “the B-52 is an incredibly adaptable and useful” aircraft.
After nearly 20 years of U.S. counterinsurgency warfare in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the Pentagon has shifted its strategic focus to “great power competition,” a shift that current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has embraced, heralding a major shift in fiscal spending and various military programs to counter Communist China and Russia as the primary goal.
Meanwhile, the Marine Corps is moving away from the tanks they rely on and instead developing the ability to fight on islands in the Western Pacific to hold the Chinese Communist fleet at bay. The Army has recently tested its offensive capabilities using artificial intelligence and sensor networks. The Navy is developing unmanned ships.
For the Air Force, strategic bombers need to have a superb ability to project power around the globe.
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