The B-52J Bomber Means the ‘Stratofortress’ Could Fly for 100 Years

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress AKA the “BUFF” (either “Big Ugly Fat Fellow” or “Big Ugly Fat ******,” depending on whether you’re in polite company), has indeed been around since 1952 (making her maiden flight on April 15 of that year to be precise, i.e. Tax Day) as the digital portion of that venerable bomber’s alphanumeric designation.

If one wishes to nitpick, it didn’t enter official operational service with the US Air Force until February 1955, so depending on which metaphorical yardstick you use to measure an aircraft’s age, the BUFF is either a sexagenarian or a septuagenarian.

And despite the plane’s age, it’s still going strong and is expected to stick around for a few decades more, even with (1) the advent of the supersonic B-1B Lancer (AKA the “Bone”) and all (2) all the buzz about the 6th Generation bombers like the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider and the Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) fighter project.

The USAF’s plans to keep the B-52 viable are exemplified in the upcoming B-52J variant.

B-52J History and Specifications: 100 Year Bomber

That subheading could also be titled “What Differentiates the B-52J From Earlier Variants?”

First and foremost will be the upgraded engines: the current B-52H variants’ Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-103s, which have been used by the Stratofortress fleet since the 1960s, are set to be replaced by Rolls-Royce RR F130 engines (the contract was awarded back in 2021).

This is history repeating itself, as an engine upgrade was also the primary rationale behind the redesignation of the B-52G as the B-52H back in 1962.

As the USAF brass stated in fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget documents that were cited in an April 2023 Air and Space Forces Magazine article by John A. Tirpak, “Any B-52H aircraft modified with the new commercial engines and associated subsystems are designated as B-52J.”

This effort comes under the banner B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program (B-52 CERP), which was initially announced on 23 April 2020.

Yes, ladies & gents, there’s more to Rolls-Royce than just fancy luxury cars. For one thing, the F130 or BR700 family of Rolls-Royce engines are found on Bombardiers, Gulfstreams, Boeing 717s, and the upcoming Dassault Falcon 10X. Going back farther in time, Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that enabled the North American P-51D Mustang to become the most legendary air superiority fighter plane of WWII by giving it the range to escort B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress (both Boeing products and the veritable direct ancestors of the Stratofortress) bombers deep in the heart of industrial Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and back.

The primary advantages of the F130 engine are increased fuel efficiency and range, a reduction in emissions in unburned hydrocarbons (yes, a “green-friendly” BUFF, folks), and significantly reduced maintenance costs (ergo more taxpayer-friendly). These engine improvements are expected to keep the B-52 flying until 2050, just a few years shy of the warbird’s 100th birthday.

Another upgrade to the B-52J will be the new radar, a modified valiant of the F/A-18EF Super Hornet’s APG-79 AESA radar. This will give the BUFFs greatly improved radar range and situational awareness, while taking less space than the older mechanically scanned radar, with the added benefit of leaving more room for electronic warfare (EW) functions.

The B-52J will also feature a cosmetic improvement: the blisters that currently house the AN/ASQ-151 Electro-Optical Viewing System (EVS) are slated be removed. The EVS was useful for helping crews fly safely at very low altitudes, but was rendered mostly moot by the LITENING and Sniper targeting pods (manufactured by Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin respectively) installed on pylons under the warbird’s portside wing.

Last but not least, the cockpit will receive an upgrade, with new multifunction digital displays, a hybrid mechanical-to-digital throttle system, new data concentrator units, an engine fault maintenance recorder, a new engine air data system, and all the related updates in panels, consoles, and wirings. There will be one less crew station, as the total crew complement will be reduced from five to four.

The Present and Near Future Status of the B-52J

Sounds all well and good, right? Here’s the rub, though: as the title of a June 2024 article by Aaron Spray of Simple Flying puts it, “15 Years After Start: B-52 Bomber With Rolls-Royce Engines Won’t Fly Until 2033.”

Mr. Spray elaborates thusly:

“The GAO reports that the delays are partly from underestimating the ‘level of funding needed to complete the detailed design activities.’ The GAO has noted a 12.6% cost increase since the 2021 cost estimate. Going forward, this may be remedied. Inside Defense noted after trawling through the Air Force’s 2025 Fiscal Year budget that there’s a request to increase the CERP’s funding by $1 billion from around $8 billion to $9 billion.”

 About the Author: Christian D. Orr

Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). In his spare time, he enjoys shooting, dining out, cigars, Irish and British pubs, travel, USC Trojans college football, and Washington DC professional sports.