B-52: setting course for 2050

摘要

The last B-52H Stratofortress came off the production line at Boeing's Wichita, Kansas factory in 1962. Yet the current Global Strike Command (GSC) force of 76 active B-52Hs has the best aircraft availability and mission-capable rates of all three bomber platforms, according to General Robin Rand, former GSC commander, addressing the House Armed Services Committee in Washington on March 22, 2018. It is also the least expensive to operate, costing $68,000 per flight hour, a FY2016 figure. The Air Force plans to keep the B-52 in service at least until the 2050s, and will invest in increasing its operational capability over this extended service life. Congress wants to see a plan for this. The upgraded bombers may be redesignated B-52J. New engines The B-52's extended service life will be enabled by the Commercial Engine Reengining Program (CERP), an "investment that is going to help us in the future," according to Lt Gen J D Harris, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements, speaking at a briefing in Washington on May 7, 2018.