Commentary
With testing underway at NASA’s Stennis Space Center for the B-52’s shiny new engines, a quick overview of the comprehensive package of upgrades and modernizations that will keep the B-52 flying well into the 2050s seems appropriate. But given the B-52’s age, it’s only natural to wonder why the Air Force is making such a large commitment to such an aged airframe. However, in coming to understand the B-52’s history and capabilities, it makes sense.
The first B-52 took to the skies on April 15, 1952. And the last B-52, a B-52H, was delivered in October 1962. Today, over 70 years after its first flight, 76 B-52s, affectionally known as BUFFs (Big, Ugly, Fat Fellows), are still flying. Being the Air Force’s heavy bomber with the lowest operating cost and longest range, they’re still playing a critical role in projecting U.S. airpower. Most recently, two B-52s found themselves in the news when on March 21 they were intercepted by a Russian SU-35 fighter as they approached Russian airspace over the Baltic Sea. Thankfully, the interception was peacefully resolved, but once again, B-52s found themselves on the frontline of projecting American air power….