Strategic bombers will continue to matter in the geopolitical balance as "weapons of mass deterrence."
The U.S. B-52 bomber fleet is to receive a series of upgrades that will boost its active life at least through the 2050s. By then, the B-52 will have been flying for nearly 90 years, since its liftoff in the Eisenhower presidency. This will make it by far the longest-flying aircraft model with its primary operator, in this case the USAF.
▲ A B-52G when it was in service [USAF].
article / Jairo Císcar Ruiz
The words "strategic bomber" may sound like the Cold War, the Soviet Union and spy planes, but today it is a concept that is on the agenda despite sounding very distant. It is true that the current status of strategic aviation is limited by the 2010 Prague agreement (START III), which restricts deployed nuclear weapon delivery vehicles to 700. These delivery vehicles include strategic bombers, ICBMs (intercontinental missiles) and SLBMs (submarine launched). Although both Russia and the US have now significantly reduced the issue of their bombers (the US has "only" 176), strategic weapons (and thus bombers) will continue to be a fundamental part of the geopolitical balance in international relations.
There are only 3 countries in the world that have strategic bombers in their arsenal, the USA, Russia and China (although the Chinese Xian H-6 is far behind its Russian and American counterparts), and this scarcity of aircraft makes them so precious and a differentiating element on the battlefield. But it is not only on the battlefield that these aircraft cause an imbalance, they especially stand out in the field of international relations as "weapons of mass deterrence".
A strategic bomber is an aircraft designed not for the battlefield directly, but to penetrate enemy territory and attack both strategic targetsinstructions militaryinstructions , headquarters, bunkers...) and critical places for a country's war effort. The fact that a country has such an aircraft in its aircraft fleet is clearly a deterrent to potential enemies. Both Russia and the US -especially the latter- are capable of keeping their bombers permanently in the air (thanks to in-flight refueling) loaded with up to 32 tons of weaponry, with a flight duration only restricted to the endurance capacity of the crew. In this "diplomacy of fear", strategic bombers will continue to play a prominent role in geo-strategy and the global balance of power. The US is fully aware of this and is therefore embarking on a series of ambitious plans to continue to enjoy air and geostrategic superiority. One of the newest and perhaps most eagerly awaited of these plans is the advertisement that American B-52s will continue to fly until at least 2050.
Although it was assumed that this would be the case, the confirmation given by the US Air Force is no less surprising: the active B-52 fleet is to receive a series of upgrades that will boost its service life until at least the 2050s. This would not be too much B news considering that it is common to approve upgrade packages, either avionics or software, to increase the service life of in-service aircraft, but the fact is that the last B-52 Stratofortress left Boeing's assembly plant in Wichita (Kansas) in 1962. In other words, by 2050 the entire fleet would have been flying for nearly 90 years, making it by far the longest flying aircraft model with its main operator, in this case the USAF.
Versatility, deterrent effect and lower operating cost
But can an aircraft that was put into service in 1955, with Eisenhower as president, stand up to the new bomber models, such as the B-2 or the future B-21 Raider? Is the huge outlay that the U.S. congress intends to make justifiable? It is estimated that it could spend 11 billion on engines alone; almost 300 million are approved for fiscal year 2019.
The answer is yes. Because of its strategic versatility, its deterrent effect and its comparatively low operational cost, the B-52 is a vital aircraft for the United States.
Its combat versatility has long been proven, since its "debut" in the Vietnam War, where it was the protagonist of carpet bombing (it is capable of dropping more than 32 tons of explosives). As time progressed, it proved that it could not only drop bombs, but also long-range missiles such as the AGM-158 JASSM or the Harpoon anti-ship. Its great armament capacity makes it one of the flagship long-range attack aircraft of the United States. This has been attested in the internationalmission statement against Daesh, in which, until being relieved by the B-1, the B-52 performed 1,850 combat missions, dropping some 12,000 bombs, something that was fundamental for the victory over Daesh in Mosul.
It is precisely when talking about long distance that the B-52 excels: without refueling, a B-52 can fly more than 15,000 km, even flying 20,000 km in extraordinary situations. This offers a global attack capability, since in the event of refueling, only the crew's own endurance would prevent them from flying indefinitely. This capability makes them ideal not only to carry out bombing raids from instructions far from the enemy, but also to participate in search tasks, being able to perform between two aircraft a "scan" of 364,000 km2 in two hours. This is vital for use by the US Navy in anti-submarine or enemy navy detection missions.
The same parameters and advantages apply to the use of the B-52 as a weapon of "mass" deterrence. Initially created to permanently have a squadron in flight armed with nuclear bombs, and thus guarantee an immediate response to any aggression, the aircraft stationed in Guam are currently used as part of the U.S. tactic of free passage through the international waters of the China Sea. They have also been employee as permanent air support in high-risk areas such as the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan or, at the beginning of the war itself, in Tora Bora. By having a B-52 on standby, troops could have air support available at short notice (and for a long time) that would otherwise take a long time to arrive.
Another indisputable advantage of these aircraft is their relatively low cost in proportion to the other bombers of the U.S. fleet. First it is necessary to clarify that the cost per flight hour is not only the fuel used, but also the cost of maintenance, spare parts... It is true that these theoretical prices do not include the cost of ammunition (which can amount to tens of millions) or other variables such as the salaries of pilots, mechanics, insurance costs, car park costs in hangars or other variables that are classified, but they do serve to give us an overall view of their operating cost. B-52s cost the U.S. taxpayer about $70,000 per hour. It may seem an extraordinarily high price, but its "brother" the B-2 reaches $130,000 per hour. Despite being exorbitant prices for an army like the Spanish one (the Eurofighter costs about 15,000 dollars per hour), for the US Defense budget it is not significant (Trump intends to reach 680,000 million dollars in budget).
Engine overhaul
We have seen that the B-52, that Big Ugly Fat Fellow as it is affectionately nicknamed by its crews, may remain a vector to be reckoned with in the air for years to come, but the USAF does not want it to become a bit player, but to remain a major player. To this end, it has created the Commercial Engine Reengining Program (CERP) to replace the old original engines. The TF33s are now more than 50 years old, and in the last 20 years their cost has doubled, due to the lack of spare parts (they currently have to cannibalize parts from retired engines) and their inefficient consumption. It should not be forgotten that it has 8 engines, so consumption is not a trivial issue. To replace them, the USAF has opened a tender that should be adjudicated from mid-2019. At the moment, the USAF specifications aim, at least, to achieve engines 25% more efficient and that take 5 times longer to need repair, which would mean a 30-year savings (until 2050) of about 10 billion dollars. With a very juicy contract (there is talk of the order of $11 billion to replace the 650 engines in the B-52 fleet), the big military aviation companies have begun to submit their proposals, including Pratt&Whitney (with the PW815), General Electric (with the new Passport Advanced Turbofan) and Rolls-Royce (with the Pearl or the BR735). Other names in the aerospace industry have yet to submit their proposals.
But it is not only the engines that will benefit from the improvements and the investment, but also the purchase of new engines will require a change in the cockpit instrumentation: in this way, they will also take advantage of the remodeling to change the old analog gauges and cathode ray displays for the modern multifunctional displays that we see in any fighter nowadays. USAF assistant secretary for procurement, William Roper, has also commented that new ejector seats are being considered.
Beyond speculation, it is certain that within the framework of the Radar Modernization Program (RMP), 817 million dollars will be invested between fiscal years 2019 and 2023 in the purchase of new radar systems to replace the APQ-166, from the 1960s. New data Link 16 tactical software will also be purchased, as it is the only USAF aircraft that does not have it built in and is vital for conducting joint operations, both within the U.S. military and with European NATO armies.
In the future, the software and the aircraft itself will be adapted to increase its offensive capabilities, as was already done with the IWBU program, which increased its cargo capacity in the hold by 67%. One of the main objectives of the offensive trimming refurbishment is to be able to carry at least one GBU-43/b (or MOAB; Mother of all Bombs; the most powerful non-nuclear bomb in the world). To this end, a new wing pylon is being designed that can support 9,000 kilos of weight. Looking ahead, the B-52 will be able to carry hypersonic missiles, but that will not be seen until the mid-2020s at the earliest.
In this way, the USAF intends to keep the B-52 Stratofortress as the A option in its fleet when it comes to heavy bombing. Therefore, the B-52 will continue to be a fundamental strategic-military factor in understanding international relations for years to come. No one would have claimed in 1955 that that aircraft, however good it was, could still be flying a hundred years later. There are still 31 years to go, but we will see what the B-52 has in store for us, that "big, fat, ugly subject " that has become, thanks to its magnificent design and construction, the Dean of bomber aircraft: the B-52 (possibly) the best bomber in the world.
