Boeing, BAE Systems Team for U.S. Air Force B-52 Stand-Off Jammer Proposal

Boeing.com ^ | August 29, 2005 | Staff

[Righty_McRight]

They plan to keep it in service until atleast 2040 I think. Probably longer

[Turbopilot]

Its saving grace is its huge weapons bay - it can lay a carpet of dumb bombs or loose an armada of stand-off missiles. If we don't need it for that, we don't need it at all anymore.

Actually, I was under the impression (from other threads here at FR) that our other strategic bombers - the B-1B and B-2 - both had significantly larger weapons capacities than the B-52. Obviously they're both stealthier and the B-1B, at least, is much faster. The only reason I'd assume the B-52 is around is it must be much, much cheaper to operate than either of the more "modern" options.

[Turbopilot]

due to START treaty requirements

Why do we still comply with the terms of such Cold War treaties? The other party to the treaties no longer exists, and its successor state couldn't afford a large military buildup even if it wanted to. We're the only ones restrained by that nonsense.

[Paleo Conservative]

The only reason I'd assume the B-52 is around is it must be much, much cheaper to operate than either of the more "modern" options.

Well we only built 100 B-1B's, and we only have 20 B-2's. There are about 94 B-52H's left. It is cheaper to continue using the B-52's than to build more B-1's or B-2's. The B-52 is still useful if we have air supremacy, and it is also configured to carry lots of Harpoon antiship missles, so it can be used as a long range antiship platform.

[RayChuang88]

Actually, what helped Boeing was the fact that in the late 1940's Boeing worked up its final B-52 proposal based on a then-new Pratt & Whitney turbojet engine, the J57. Rated at 10,000 lb. thrust, Boeing calculated the type of plane they could have powered by eight of these new engines and the result made a LOT of people in the Pentagon really happy because 1) they now had a plane that could cause most of the bombload of the B-36 Peacemaker but fly at B-47 speeds and 2) the plane's unrefuelled range made it possible to base the B-52 in the continental USA and fly all the way to the Soviet Union with only one mid-air refuelling, another thing really attractive to the Pentagon brass.