The New Old B-52 Bomber

Video from the channel Detrás de Sergio Hidalgo about Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 12:15. Language: Spanish. Video type: News.

Commentary on the news that the B-52's new Rolls-Royce F130 engines have passed their critical design review and are being prepared for altitude testing at the Air Force's engineering development complex in Tennessee, scheduled for February 2025. They are the centerpiece of the conversion of the B-52H into the B-52J, which also includes a new radar, avionics, displays, wheels and brakes.

The B-52H, introduced in the early 1960s, still fly with their original TF33 engines, which are near the end of their service life; spare parts are scarce and maintenance relies on cannibalizing parts from other aircraft. The video explains that the air force will retire the B-1 and B-2 in the 2030s in favor of the B-21, while the B-52, with a large radar signature, is meant to operate once air superiority has already been achieved. It shows footage of bomb drops, a cockpit with eight throttle levers, and the main landing gear, which rotates before retracting into the fuselage.

The air force aims for a fleet of at least 100 B-21s and 76 B-52Js, and the upgrades should keep the B-52 in service until the 2050s and perhaps until 2060, close to a century of life. A version of the F130 already flies on the Gulfstream G650, although mounting it in twin pods under the B-52's wing requires verifying that it works safely.