B-52 Future Stratofortress: The Upgrades That Will Transform The B-52H Into The B-52J

Boeing's B-52 Strat Fortress took to the sky 73 years ago and the youngest examples still flying have been executing missions around the globe for over 6 decades now despite its geriatric status the US Air Force is doubling down on the B-52 and in a very big way this will come in the form of a slew of upgrades that will transform the Cold War era bombers into truly 21st century Weapons Systems that will serve for decades to come alongside the most advanced flying weapon mankind has ever built the B21 Raider this is how the 8G engined bomber ended up in its current configuration and a rundown on all the features and modifications that will transform today's b-52h into tomorrow's B-52 J mention the name B52 also known as the buff for big ugly fat uh fellow and pretty much everyone knows about the smoke billowing American jet bomber that stood alert at the height of the Cold War and featured heavily in the Vietnam war in the post Cold War era the aircraft would take on a more prominent Precision conventional strike role featuring new guided weapons and targeting systems so that it could play a key part in the global war on terror now with the rise of near-peer competitors and a new dangerous age of so-called great power competition the US Air Force's future bomber plan includes a major overhaul of the force that will see the retirement of the Swing wi B1 Lancer and America's first stealth bomber B2 Spirit the all new north of Grumman B21 Raider will take over for these aircraft for the foreseeable future there will be no replacement for the nearly antique B-52s that's right the B-52 will outlive both of the Cold War bombers that originally succeeded it but the buff is showing its age and to keep it flying in combat relevant as the Air Force's weapons truck of choice for decades to come will require some major upgrades these will include long- awaited new engines as well as a new radar and many other enhancements this revamped for the 21st century B52 will stay in service until at least 2050 alongside the new [Music] B21 designed for transpolar nuclear warfare with the Soviet Union the B-52 was Strategic Air Commands on call nuclear weapons delivery service with its Crews orbiting High over the Arctic or sitting alert ready to launch in minutes during times of relative peace and while teetering on the brink of nuclear Armageddon as well as its nuclear role the v52 evolved as a conventional heavy bomber with upgrades such as big belly that increased its capacity to carry conventional ordinance in its cavernous bomb Bays to the tune of 84500 lb or 42 750lb bombs the follow on Project South Bay added an additional 24 750lb bombs on underwing pylons in Vietnam highflying B-52s rained down fire on the jungles below the bomber's reputation found its way into popular culture even with a drink in a pop group using the B-52's name while born in an era of nuclear standoff the B-52 proved its worth in conventional roles responding to the demands of a changing security landscape from bombing wide areas in Vietnam and later Iraq to launching waves of conventionally armed cruise missiles to more recent conflicts where the B-52 could strike precisely with GPS and Laser guided weapons from high above the ladder occurred in the wake of 9/11 when B-52s fought in Afghanistan taking on the new mission of providing Precision close air support to troops in contact B-52 Crews would hone this capability over the years employing it continuously over two decades of counterinsurgency and counterterror operations today the buff remains a key component of America's nuclear deterrent and conventional longrange strike capabilities but the Jets cocktail of new features some of them decades in the making is not only likely to push a close to or even beyond the century of service markk it will also create a stradle fortress like we've never seen before one customized to confront a slew of modern threats and especially China the end of the Cold War saw a drastic cut in the B-52 force in terms of numbers all the early models were long gone with huge numbers of Buffs lying for laen in desert storage in Arizona with their wings unceremoniously lying next to their abandoned fuselages to comply with the new strategic arms reduction treaty with Russia the only Strat Fortress variant that still remains in service today is the b-52h which is a derivative of the b-52g with pratton Whitney tf33 low bypass turbofan engines deliveries of the H began in May 1961 and with 102 constructed it took the final tally of B-52's built to 744 aircraft until the end of the Cold War the b-52h model was committed almost exclusively to the nuclear role beginning with the conventional enhancement modification in 1994 it had its non-nuclear weapons options increased ultimately adding to the Precision guided bombs mentioned earlier the b-52h variant first went to war in September 1996 when the type launched AGM 86 conventional air launch cruise missiles or Calcom against Iraqi targets that began a long running campaign of combat operations in both the Middle East and Afghanistan strapped with a targeting pod this is when the b-52h took up the close air support role which couldn't have been more different from the Airborne nuclear alert mission in which the type had begun its service now the H model is getting a new designation to account for all the upgrades that are headed its way the B-52 J here is exactly what will transform H models into [Music] JS the US Air Force has for decades tried to replace the power plants on its roughly 72 remaining B-52s even the fuel hungry tf33 engines on the youngest age variance went out of production in the 1980s and the Air Force has had to develop its own specific maintenance shop at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma to keep them going with no ready supply of new spare parts the costs associated with both routine and more serious maintenance have grown dramatically over the years proposals for re-engining B-52 HS and earlier variants with older engines they back all the way to the 1960s the size of the bombers and specifically the clearance under the inboard Wing area also made them attractive test beds for new engine designs at least one B-52 assisted General Electric in the flight test of its tf39 and CF6 High bypass turbofan engines pratton Whitney also flew the jt9d on the B-52 in terms of actual new engine options for B-52s during the 1960s and 1970s Boeing proposed replacing the eight engines on H and G models with four larger and more efficient High bypass turbo fans during the same period the company also pitched the idea of substituting the four engine pods on these bombers with a pair of more powerful engines in a single pod under each Wing the Air Force passed on both Concepts in part due to focus at the time on development of the new B1 bomber between the 1980s and early 2000s Boeing and pratton Whitney both proposed several additional re-engining Concepts involving the replacement of the 8 TF 33s with four newer engines such as the PW 2000 also known as the F-117 which is found in the c17 globe Master 3 as well as the CF6 which equips some 747s and now the upgraded c5m Galaxy among a number of other types Boeing ass says that it could cost as much as $4.5 billion to give the remaining B-52 H's new engines but that the Air Force would save more than that thanks to improved fuel efficiency and other benefits across the rest of the life cycle of the Jets a defense science board report published in 2003 came to similar conclusions projecting initial cost of between 3 and 3 1.2 billion for a re-engining effort depending on the exact engine chosen but Savings of between 9 and 12 billion in 2014 the Air Force again studied what it would need out of a re-engining program for the B-52 it came to the conclusion that new power plants would need to save between 10 and 25% in fuel consumption and would have to go 15 to 25 years before the first invasive overhauls of the engine are required still the nagging question remained over whether four large engines or eight smaller ones or even a six engine arrange M would be the best solution one area of concern was whether relocated engine pylons would be needed to accommodate new power plants mounted under the Buff's drooped Wings such a requirement would potentially result in a costly re-engineering of the B-52's wings with four larger engines such as the General Electric CF6 or engine similar in size to the pret and Whitney pw2000 Rudder Authority for engine out operations also was a concern then there was the issue of ground clearance for much larger turbo fans as a result costly structural and flight control upgrades may have been needed to accommodate their use by the late 2010s the Air Force had made the key decision to continue flying B52 H's out to at least 2040 which has since been extended out even further to 2050 this finally made re-engining the buff a high priority in 2017 Boeing put out a video with a new public pitch for a complete re-engining of the remaining B-52 H's arguing that in doing so would save more than10 billion between then and 2050 Beyond cost savings the company estimated that the increase fuel efficiency from new engines would give the bombers up to 40% more flying time per sorty Boeing also asserted that the replacement engines were unlikely to ever need to be overhauled before the bomber's final retirement date The increased range thanks to fuel efficient engines would open up new operational possibilities and lower buff dependence on an aging aerial refueling tanker Fleet improved field performance was another advantage of these new engines the Jets visual signature would also be reduced but the long smoke Trails it was so well known for no longer being an issue with modern engines the Air Force finally determined the best option was a straight swap of the 8 TF 33s for eight compact High bypass turbo fans fitted to the aircraft's existing pylons and recontour dual theel pods The Hope was that this would not only offer Savings in terms of cost but also in time thanks to a faster engine integration and flight test schedule overall eight new engines were seen as the least risky option in 2021 after more than 50 years of re-engining proposals the Air Force finally moved ahead with plans for a one toone swap of the existing engines on each of its B-52 HS the Rolls-Royce f130 a derivative of the br700 engines that power some Gulf Stream and Global Express business Jets beat out General Electric CF 34-10 and pratton Whitney's pw800 to replace TF 33s under the commercial engine replacement program or Ser Ser has run into major cost growth but just how much remains unclear still with the Air Force betting future bomber Force structure on the B21 and B-52 the re-engining program has got to work and major delays could have significant cascading impacts regardless with the air force moving ahead with Ser once the re-engined buff becomes a reality it will be officially designated as the B52 J Boeing is overseeing the engine integration and the aircraft's overall modernization program the new larger engine the to house the f-130 engines will be supplied by Spirit AOS systems their larger diameter means that they need to be positioned closer to the wing than their predecessors in order to fit properly the first two test b52s will be modified at Boeing San Antonio Texas facility beginning in 2026 and ground and flight tests are planned to run from 2028 until 2031 a massive new hanger is also being built at Tinker Air Force Base to support the exhaustive upgrade project with the new building able to house up to four B-52s at a time [Music] an artist rendering from Boeing released in October 2022 depicted the B-52 J as it could look in its future fully upgraded form which notably includes a reprofiled nose this new nose section will contain a version of the apg-79 active electronically scanned array or Aisa radar which is scheduled to come into service around the same time as the new engines this radar is a version of the highly proven system installed in the Navy's fa18 es Super Hornet ea1 18g grow and the remaining fa18 Legacy Hornets flying with the Marine Corps the anap g79 will give the B52 greatly improved radar range Fidelity counter measure resistance situational awareness and other capabilities the radar could even support Advanced electronic warfare and longrange communication functions this is a true multi-roll multimode system and it will even give the B-52 air-to-air surveillance and tracking abilities for enhanced situational awareness and even potentially self def fence with the ability to detect and track moving Targets on the ground and at Sea it can be used to guide networked weapons directly onto those targets over long distances the aircraft's targeting pod can be slaved to what the radar is seeing and vice versa which will help with visual Target acquisition and identification including of aircraft over long distances even for General reconnaissance and intelligence gathering the B-52's long loitering time and payload flexibility will pair extremely well with the new radar also in the rendering a pair of fittings under the nose have been eliminated entirely first added to the b-52g and b-52h variants in the 1970s the two enclosures together form the asq 151 Electro Optical viewing system with the right one holding a huge a AA q6 forward looking infrared system and the left one containing a Westinghouse an AV q22 low light level television system the ev's main purpose was to help Crews fly safely at low altitudes so that they could penetrate deep into en air space in any weather day or night and with flash curtains drawn for nuclear strikes but they also had secondary albeit very limited surveillance capabilities the EVS on the Air Force's remaining B-52 H's has already been supplanted at least in some ways by modern targeting pods either locked Martin sniper are north of Grumman lightning types installed on pylons under the bomber's right wing also its low-level penetration Mission has withered over the post Cold War years today the B-52 relies on long range AGM 86b cruise missiles for its nuclear deterrence Mission and it isn't even clear to drop nuclear bombs in combat the new radar plus the elimination of the EVS fairings could result in the major reprofiling of the B-52's notoriously lumpy nose as seen in the concept art which could lower drag and improve efficiency [Music] further two humps at top the fuselage which also appeared in the artist impression are representative of of enhanced satellite communication systems destined for the upgraded B52 b52s are to receive improved GPS systems and Link 16 data links as well as new low frequency very low frequency and advanced extreme high frequency communication Suites the bombers are already receiving upgraded satellite Communications allowing them to exchange information around the globe like never before these updates will allow the B52 J to communicate and integrate with disparate platforms across an intricately networked future battle space as a result the future buff can act as an advanced weapons truck even striking targets over great distances that it can't detect with its own sensors on the request of other platforms operating far forward from its position targeting and threat data piped to it from space-based systems including massive distributed constellations that constantly track targets across huge Geographic areas will also unlock the future Buffs potential a much-needed cockpit upgrade is also underway the biggest change will be the replacement of the iconic array of steam gauge dials in the center panel with a pair of large digital multi-function displays smaller multi-function displays have already replaced existing monochrome monitors that sit in front of the pilot and co-pilot the rest of the buff crew will also get similar digital interface upgrades in addition there are plans to integrate a new Advanced electronic warfare Suite onto the B-52 to improve its ability to sense threats over long distances and defend itself from Attack L3 Harris has been contracted to provide this new system that can simultaneously counter multiple electronic Spectrum threats with without interfering with the aircraft's operations the a an apg-79 radar is likely to be deeply integrated into this new system the Air Force plans to add a variety of new weapons to the Buffs Arsenal the vision for the B-52 is a standoff weapons truck that seamlessly shares data with other Platforms in the battle space will be heavily reliant on this new array of Munitions Chief among the new arrows in the B-52's quiver are Hypersonic weapons for which the Strat Fortress has been singled out as an ideal launch platform a combination of speed and maneuverability make these weapons highly effective in penetrating dense air defenses to prosecute time-sensitive and very high priority targets consequently the B-52's Hypersonic weapons launch capability will be key in breaking down the enemy's metaphorical door so that other platforms including stealthy ones can survive within Striking Distance in March of 2024 a B-52 flying from Anderson Air Force Bas on Guam launched a live AGM 183a air launched rapid response weapon better known as Arrow during a test over the Pacific in addition to being a major show of force in the region this was also the last planned Arrow flight test Arrow's two main components are a rocket booster and an unpowered Hypersonic boost Glide vehicle the missile uses its rocket booster to get to a high speed and altitude before releasing its boost Glide vehicle and then follows a relatively shallow gliding trajectory within the atmosphere to to its Target maneuvering erratically along the way that maneuverability plus its Hypersonic speed defin as anything above Mach 5 make weapons like this extremely hard to defend against Arrow's future is now murky but it's possible that a follow-on effort could be already underway in the classified realm meanwhile aeon and north of grubin Le team is developing another Hypersonic weapon under the Hypersonic attack cruise missile program known as hackam unlike Arrow's boost Glide propulsion method hackam uses an air breathing engine to sustain its high speed needs Air Force Global strike commands b52s are set to be one of the primary launch platforms for these missiles when they begin entering service which could come as early as 2027 when it comes to hackam the Air Force says The B-52s will need new underwing pylons be able to carry the full desired load of these weapons the service says the improved common pylons that B-52s have used for decades to carry various Conventional Weapons Under their wings which are only rated for Munitions in the 5,000lb weight class or below will not be up to the task in 2018 the Air Force had announced its interest in acquiring new underwing pylons for the B-52 specifically to accommodate Munitions weighing up to 20,000 lb these pylons which Boeing dubbed Hercules look to be related to the development of Arrow but could also be used with hackam and other outsize payloads thanks to other past upgrades b52s can carry a wide variety of conventional Munitions cruise missile like electronic warfare equipped decoys and even leaflet bombs as well as nuclear tipped AGM 86 BS on new smart rotary launch lachers in their bomb bay and on their underw pylons before the smart rotary launcher upgrade modern guided weapons could not be carried internally as the Munitions could not communicate with the B-52's combat systems so these new launchers drastically expand the Buff's payload flexibility the non-nuclear weapons the bombers can now carry include various Precision guided bombs winged Naval mines and the AGM 158 joint air to surface standoff missile or JM series of stealthy cruise missiles in November of 2019 the service notably retired the conventional variants of the air launched cruise missile the AGM 86 C and D versions leaving jasm and the subvariant as the only conventional standoff land attack missiles certified for use on the B-52 the bombers can also employ AGM 84 Harpoon anti- ship missiles the jum family including a possible version with a th mile range called the JM extreme range or JM XR is likely to be the primary conventional standoff weapon for America's bombers for the foreseeable future Congress has eliminated a requirement for a conventional version of the future AGM 181a long range standoff or lrso cruise missile the nuclear armed version of which is still slated to replace the AGM 86b air launched cruise missile the secretive lrso which Ron is developing will be highly survivable including having a very stealthy airf frame and it's possible that its range may be significantly greater than its predecessor the ability to communicate with the launch platform and other command and control assets and the ability to sense threats in its environment and avoid them are also possible features as they already exist on Advanced conventionally armed cruise missiles the US Air Force has conducted at least nine flight tests of prototypes of its nuclear tipped lrso this includes a test where a prototype missile successfully flew by itself along a set route while loaded with a special test article designed to act as a surrogate for W-4 nuclear warhead all of this puts the Air Force ever closer to Fielding lrso which will act as the B-52's primary strategic weapon the lrso is also set to arm the B21 Raider and is part of the broader longrange strike family of systems that also includes the Raider along with a classified array of other aerial platforms sensors Communications architectures and weapons new weapons that will find themselves on the buff will be increasingly networked with the ability to work together autonomously as part of Cooperative swarms considering the raft of weapons in development for the B52 and its stablemate B21 its development story will not end there the baked in versatility of the B52 along with its new engines digital infrastructure upgraded radar and vast payload Carriage options and capacity mean it will be able to accommodate many nextg weapons including very large ones no other aircraft in the inventory can lug around carrying and deploying drones is also on the horizon this could include air launched effects small unmanned aircraft that can be deployed midair to conduct a host of missions in heavily defended territory as well as much larger high- performance unmanned combat air vehicles that can carry weapons far forward into high highly contested airspace the ladder could even be commanded by the Buff's crew defending the aircraft from enemy threats emanating far deeper into hostile territory than the B-52 could survive with its new radar and situational awareness enhancing abilities the buff could also Dawn its own air-to-air missiles not just for self-defense but to act as an Arsenal ship lobbing very long range affectors on the demand of Fighters and other platforms operating in the thick of the fight far ahead of them finally new potted systems could bring Advanced networking and sensor systems to the buff they can be bolted off on and off as needed potentially offering Advanced and highly tailored standoff surveillance network connectivity and standoff electronic warfare support for Joint Forces lasers could also end up on the Strat Fortress which is amazing to ponder considering it first flew in the dawn of the jet age these directed Energy Systems can work in a self-defense capacity swatting down incoming missiles and even burning holes in approaching aircraft this kind of extreme adaptability has helped ensure that the B-52 has remained a priority for Air Force decision makers even over 60 years after the last one's rolled off the production line now the Air Force's oldest kinetic platform still in service is set to serve alongside its newest as a uniquely diverse but complimentary Strategic Air Power Team No matter how confident Boeing's Engineers were in their creation when it took to the sky so long ago they would have never imagined The stradle Fortress would remain in the fight through the middle of the next Century as a high-tech multi-roll platform with a career spanning nearly 100 years it may sound cliche but just like a fine wine the B-52 seems to just get better with age

Channel: The War Zone

Views: 128,383

Keywords: B-52, B-52H, B-52J, Stratofortress, BUFF, B-21, Raider, Strategic Air Command, Bomber, Nuclear

Id: Hf25X4hobdk

Length: 24min 10sec (1450 seconds)

Published: Fri Jun 14 2024