Latest news with #B-52J
Asia Times
12-05-2025
- Business
- Asia Times
Cold War bomber, 21st century bill: B-52 upgrade faces fire
The B-52's radar upgrade has exceeded cost projections, triggering a Nunn-McCurdy breach and reigniting debate over whether modernizing the Cold War era bomber is still viable. The B-52 Radar Modernization Program (RMP)—a key step in converting the B-52H to the B-52J—has overrun its budget by 17%, surpassing the 15% threshold that mandates congressional review, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The upgrade, led by US defense contractor Raytheon via aerospace giant Boeing, replaces the aging AN/APQ-166 with a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, designated AN/APQ-188, a hybrid system based on radars used in the F-15 and F/A-18. A deviation report on the budget overrun was filed in April, with formal notification expected soon. Despite cost concerns, US Air Force acquisition officials are reportedly confident the program can proceed, refining requirements to ensure affordability while preserving critical capabilities. The first operational radar units are slated for 2027, with full integration dependent on budgetary feasibility. US Department of Defense (DOD) reports indicate technical requirements are being met, though concerns remain about radome shaping effects. Low-rate production decisions covering 28 aircraft are expected in 2026, with broader deployment following operational testing by 2028. The program's cost estimate has risen from US$2.3 billion to $2.6 billion. The US Air Force may have foreshadowed this Nunn-McCurdy notification by looking at alternatives to the AN/APQ-166, as The War Zone (TWZ) reported in March 2025. TWZ notes that the US Air Force's contracting notice raises questions about the RMP program's future, although it mentions that there are no intended changes and that the service may want to know its options before pushing through with the upgrade. Looking at the rationale behind the B-52 radar upgrade, the 2024 B-52 RMP report by the US Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) mentions that the AN/APQ-188 will improve system reliability and reduce sustainment costs, while offering new high-resolution ground-mapping to improve target location accuracy and tracking of moving targets. At the tactical level, the report says these new capabilities would allow the B-52J to perform long-range, all-weather conventional and nuclear strike operations using a variety of munitions against ground and maritime targets in a low to medium threat environment. It adds that B-52J theater-level tasks include strategic attack, time-sensitive targeting, air interdiction, close air support (CAS), suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), minelaying and nuclear deterrence. Looking at the B-52J's possible operational employment, Kris Osborn mentions in a March 2025 article for 1945 that the B-52 can function as an 'arsenal plane,' launching long-range cruise missiles, precision-guided bombs, and nuclear weapons from standoff distances. Moreover, Osborn says the B-52 can become a drone 'mothership,' launching drones to perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), targeting, or even attack missions. Still, not everyone is convinced. Andrew Latham argues in a 1945 article that despite those upgrades, the B-52J is no longer survivable against near-peer adversaries, stating that while it can operate at standoff distances launching cruise missiles, it will never again operate safely in heavily defended airspace. Latham adds that aging B-52s have become more expensive to maintain, noting that the US Air Force already struggles to keep its B-1s and B-2s in service. He notes that every dollar spent on modernizing the B-52 diverts resources from the B-21 program. He argues that even with standoff capabilities, non-stealthy bombers like the B-52 will become increasingly vulnerable as adversaries advance in hypersonic weapons, integrated air defense systems (IADS) and electronic warfare. The US bomber fleet's mission-capable rates also raise concerns about current readiness and the urgency of modernization. As of 2024, the 72-strong B-52 fleet had a Mission Capable (MC) rating of 53.77%—relatively low, but still better than the B-1 fleet at 43.44% and the B-2 fleet at 55.04%, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. However, modernization efforts face long-term delays. A June 2024 GAO report notes that while the B-52 RMP aims for initial operating capability (IOC) by 2027, delays in the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) have pushed IOC for the upgraded B-52J to 2033. At the strategic level, the B-52 remains a critical asset in US Air Force Bomber Task Force (BTF) missions, which are regular and routine deployments of bombers to reassure allies and deter adversaries. The strategy leverages bombers' recallability, in which sending them toward a target signals resolve without triggering nuclear escalation. In the Pacific, Newsweek mentioned in April 2025 that the US operates B-1 bombers from Misawa Air Base in Japan, B-1s from Guam, B-52s from Naval Support Facility (NSF) Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and B-2s from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley in Australia and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickham in Hawaii. However, there is a risk that using nuclear-capable bombers such as the B-52 in a conventional standoff strike role could trigger nuclear escalation. A November 2024 RAND report by Dahlia Goldfeld and others warns that long-range bombers like the B-52 could unintentionally provoke Chinese nuclear escalation in a Taiwan conflict. They argue that the bombers' high visibility, their deployment of dual-capable payloads such as air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs) and historical patterns of US bomber use—such as high-tempo sorties during the 2003 Iraq invasion—could be interpreted by China as preparation for a decapitation or regime-change campaign. Goldfeld and others further note that when combined with deception tactics and the potential for false alarms, these signals may create the illusion of an imminent nuclear strike, prompting a preemptive Chinese response regardless of US intent. Whether the B-52J becomes a cost-effective force multiplier or an aging liability will depend not just on radar integration and budget control, but on how adversaries interpret its return to prominence in a more dangerous strategic environment.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
B-52 Re-Engining Plan Comes Into Sharper Focus
The U.S. Air Force's goal has been to finish re-engining the last of its fleet of 76 B-52 bombers by 2035, but this schedule might now slip to the following year. This would extend the total time between the original Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) contract award and the completion of the upgrade work to around 15 years. Delays and cost growth have already beset the CERP effort. At the same time, we are gettin new information as to what will be included in one of the re-engining kits. In 2021, the Air Force announced it had selected the F130 as the winner of a competition to re-engine its remaining operational B-52Hs, something that had been a topic of on again-off again discussions for decades at that point. The B-52's original manufacturer, Boeing, is the prime contractor for the actual integration work, which requires a host of additional modifications to the aircraft. The resulting bombers, which will also get an array of other upgrades and are currently expected to serve into the 2050s, will be redesignated as B-52Js. The B-52Hs were the last of these bombers produced and the final example rolled off the Boeing production line in 1962. The aircraft have received various improvements and updates already since then. 'The B-52J CERP production phase' includes 'procurement and/or production of aircraft components to support installation of new engines and associated sub-systems onto the B-52 aircraft. (engines will be provided separately by the Government),' according to a recent Air Force contracting notice. 'Building, storing, and delivering aircraft modification kits to Tinker AFB [Air Force Base] or other designated locations, if required, on an as needed basis through the production phase for up to 76 B-52H aircraft including additional spare parts, production tooling and support equipment to support installations in a five-to-eight-year period, starting FY28 [Fiscal Year 2028].' An eight-year period starting in Fiscal Year 2028 would wrap up in Fiscal Year 2036. The 2036 fiscal cycle will start on October 1, 2035 and end on September 30, 2036. As of 2023, the Air Force said it was looking to complete the CERP effort by 2035. The contracting notice does say that the Air Force's goal remains to have its first two B-52s with the new engines by 2028, which will be used for ground and flight testing purposes. 'Prior to the B-52J production phase, the Boeing Company will develop aircraft modification installation drawings [and] select aircraft modification component suppliers,' it adds. Details about the anticipated contents of the B-52J CERP 'modification kits' are also included in the notice and are as follows: Engine Struts (OEM Spirit Aero) Integrated Drive Generators (OEM Collins) Hydraulic pumps (OEM Parker) Engine nacelles and fairings (OEM Spirit Aero) Generator Control Units (OEM Collins) Hydraulic reservoirs Engine throttle controls Power distribution boxes (OEM Boeing) Power wiring Engine start switches Air starter auxiliary unit (OEM Honeywell) Control wiring Engine instrument display (OEM L3 Collins) Air starter auxiliary unit controller Attachment hardware Engine data concentrator units (OEM Boeing) Hydraulics panel in cockpit Pneumatic pre-coolers Electrical panel in cockpit Pneumatic components and ducting Anti-ice systems (OEM Liebherr) Air Data System Probes (OEM Collins Rosemont) True Air Temp Sensors (OEM Collins Rosemont) The CERP program centers on a one-for-one replacement of the eight TF33 engines that currently power the B-52, a decision made to try to reduce the cost and complexity of the upgrade effort. However, the list above underscores that the work entails much more than just installing the new F130s under the wings of the bombers. The re-engining effort is set to give the bombers substantially better fuel economy and reduce maintenance demands, which, in turn, are expected to cut sustainment costs and provide operational benefits, including extended range, as you can learn more about here. The TF33 is a 1950s-era design that has been out of production since 1985 and is now very costly to operate and maintain. Though a possible slip in the completion timeline for the CERP program from 2035 to 2036 isn't great, it does speak to the larger issues the effort has already faced to date. Those difficulties could, in turn, eat into the benefits that re-engining the B-52s is supposed to provide. Last year, it emerged that the Air Force might not even start flying operational missions with B-52Js until 2033, three years later than expected and 12 years after the initial CERP contract was signed. It is also possible that steps the Air Force and Boeing are taking now, including starting the search for possible vendors to help put the modification kits together, could help mitigate existing delays. On the other hand, the program is still quite young and additional delays could spring up as a result of production and flight testing. Boeing as a whole has seen serious turmoil across its defense and commercial sectors in recent years, including with regard to new Air Force One jets for the Air Force and other high-profile U.S. military programs, leading to billions of dollars in financial losses. How much the CERP program is expected to cost in total at this point is unclear, but there are indications that it may have already grown from around $8 billion to roughly $9 billion. Boeing was supposed to provide the Air Force with an updated cost estimate by the end of last year, but it is unclear whether or not that occured. CERP is also just one of a number of modernization efforts the Air Force is pursuing to help ensure its B-52s remain operationally relevant for decades to come. This includes a major Radar Modernization Program (RMP), which has also struggled with delays and cost growth in recent years. Replacing the B-52's existing mechanically-scanned AN/APQ-166 radar with a new active electronically-scanned array (AESA) type derived from Raytheon's popular AN/APG-79 is seen as a particularly critical upgrade. The new radars will offer greater range and fidelity, along with improved situational awareness and resistance to countermeasures. All of this could help with target acquisition and identification, including of potentially hostile aircraft, as well as help expand the aircraft's ability to employ networked munitions at long distances. The radars will also have secondary ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and synthetic aperture radar surveillance capabilities, and could have additional functionality, including electronic warfare and communications support. The Air Force otherwise sees the B-52 as a key element of its nuclear and conventional long-range strike capabilities through at least 2050, including in a potential high-end fight against China in the Pacific. In addition to the on-aircraft upgrades, the bombers are set to receive new weapons to support those missions, including the nuclear-tipped AGM-181A Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) cruise missile and future conventionally-armed hypersonic weapons. Regardless, the re-engining program remains arguably the most important upgrade effort for the B-52 in decades, but it may ultimately take at least 15 years total to complete the work. Contact the author: joe@
