EDITORIAL

摘要

This issue includes a poster to mark Boeing's 100th anniversary, and one of its most enduring designs, the B-52 Stratofortress, is given special attention being the subject of three articles. The B-52 has proved its worth during the course of numerous conflicts over the decades and it is also used as a political tool to demonstrate US power and resolve. If B-52s are sent to a region where tensions are high, the world's media takes note, the same cannot be said of most other aircraft types. In the article 'Barksdale Bombers - Total Force Integration' a lieutenant colonel makes an interesting comment that piloting a B-52 today is akin to flying a B-17 in the Vietnam War. However, the B-52 has been continually upgraded and adapted for new roles. For example, close air support (CAS) was once the preserve of attack helicopters and fast jets, such as the Harrier.