just wrong....a Brokeback kind of Strangelove.
just wrong....a Brokeback kind of Strangelove.
“The Old Dog”
Ever seen a BUFF take off up close? Its magnificent. Closest thing to a religious experience I’ve ever had.
In 1971 I thought the D model in the Lowry training hanger was cool, even as the G & H models were being fielded.
But extending its life to 2040 is a bit beyond ridiculous.
What is it that’s “wrong” with the B-52 that it’s service life couldn’t be extended indefinitely?
If the airframes are old, couldn’t they be reproduced? I mean, this is 50 year old tech put together with 50 year old processes. Surely these components could be made today just as easily as they were in the last century.
Or is it the design that’s inadequate somehow? Why can’t it be tweaked rather than replaced with a $multi-billion new model that would be unproven and likely over budget?
It’s already been refitted with revised engines (multiple times, IIRC), so presumably that could continue to happen as engine tech evolves.
It just seems to me we have a proven, working platform that has managed to adapt nicely over the years. Aircrews and pilots are familiar with it, training program is established, spare parts are in inventory. I like new planes as much as the next person, but it seems the B-52 has proven itself as effective at what she does.
Or maybe we no longer need a bomber that does what the B-52 can do?
Yep - hell of an aircraft. To look at it, one has to wonder what has made it so durable as to last this long. Under a full load, the wing tips flex over 20’ from resting on the wheel struts to airborne. Freakin’ amazing.
“.........a round of upgrades that will help both the airmen inside each one and also the top-level commanders moving them around on their maps. Even if that commander’s suit is a darker shade of blue:.......”
What’s this “darker shade of blue” crap? U.N.?
Planning today should be excluding the U.N., NOT including the potential of. Think Positive.
BUFS were one of the few aircraft that made our P-3s look like TIFS.
B-52s with their bays full of:
antimissile drones
‘Wild weasel’ drones
anti-personnel claymore drones
and providing commo links to operators near the battlefield.
The Navy could provide a carrier group to fill in the spaces, but the Army would be reduced to just providing the brooms (until the political idiots go for ‘nation building’ occupation).