Key Points: The US Air Force is upgrading its B-52H Stratofortress fleet through the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP), creating the B-52J variant intended to serve into the 2050s.
-This involves replacing the eight aging, inefficient TF33 engines on up to 76 bombers with new Rolls-Royce F130s.
-However, the upgrade is far more complex than a simple engine swap, requiring extensive airframe modifications and system integration by prime contractor Boeing.
-While initially planned for completion by 2035, potential delays could push the timeline to 2036 or later. The B-52J promises improved fuel efficiency, range, endurance, and lower maintenance costs.
The B-52J Bomber Upgrade
By 2035, the last of the fleet of B-52H Stratofortress bombers are scheduled to be re-engined as part of a major fleet upgrade, which will turn them into B-52Js.
The US Air Force (USAF) has had the plan in place for years, with the official contracting notice calling for the installation of new engines and other hardware to be completed within a 5-8 year period.
Meet the B-52J
The notice also calls for a “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].”
The USAF had initially intended for the entire effort to be completed by 2035, but uneven progress to date may mean that the schedule will slip to 2036 or later. If so, it would mean that the total time between the original Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) contract award and the completion of all the upgrade work on the B-52s would have expanded to a performance period of 15 years.
The most recent announcement, which spans eight years starting in Fiscal Year 2028, would technically only need to be completed in Fiscal Year 2036. The 2036 fiscal cycle wily begin on 1 October 2035 and will end on 30 September 2036.
Slippage of Original Planning on B-52J
When the program plan was initially laid out in 2023, the USAF had intended for the entire CERP process to be completed by 2035. But numerous delays and cost overruns have hit the CERP effort on more than one occasion.
At the same time, there is now more detail on the specific components that will be included in the re-engineering kits for this program. The full list of items comprises over two dozen items, some of which are ancillary to the engine replacement. Still, all are critical if the new F130 engines are to perform according to specifications.
The general outlines of the re-engining call for one-for-one replacement of the originally eight TF33 engines that currently power the B-52. This decision to replace all eight engines with eight comparable models, rather than a smaller number of higher-thrust design power plants, was made to reduce the costs and complications associated with the upgrade effort.
However, what was envisioned as little more than swapping out one model engine for another appears to be more complicated upon examination of the list of components, rewiring requirements, new sensors, control system modifications, hydraulic system adjustments, and structural changes to the engine nacelles.
These additional re-fits reveal that the work is far more involved than something as simple as changing a tire or substituting an old fuel pump with a new one.
Other Additional Requirements
All the other changes that must be made to the B-52s clearly show that what is billed as a simple re-engining goes well beyond just installing the new F-130 engines under the wings of these bombers.
Boeing is the prime contractor for performing the integration work on the B-52, which, in addition to the engines, includes a comprehensive list of other modifications to these aircraft. Once these bombers have been retrofitted with this comprehensive set of onboard systems upgrades, they will be capable of remaining in service into the 2050s.
These B-52H models, with the refit and re-engining completed, will then be redesignated as B-52Js. The B-52Hs were the last of the production history of the aircraft, with the last of the H models having come off the Boeing assembly line in 1962.
Over the intervening six decades, the B-52 has undergone a series of upgrades and design modifications.
To date, little has been done with the engines, and they were long overdue for inclusion in a program of improvements. The TF33 is a 1950s-era design that has been out of production for forty years and has become prohibitively expensive to operate and maintain. The long-term benefits of the re-engining program include improved fuel economy and a reduced maintenance workload for the bombers.
When the aircraft are finally in operation with the newly-installed upgrades and new engines, their life-cycle costs are expected to be significantly reduced. The engines’ improved fuel economy and other changes will extend not only the range of the B-52J but also enhance its mission duration and endurance.
About the Author:
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments, and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years, he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China, and Australia.
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