The B-52 and Boeing 777
Another piece of trivia. The B-52 bomber, conceived of and built in the 1950’s by Boeing as the biggest bomber ever in the US Air Force, has 8 engines producing a total max thrust of 136,000lbs. The Boeing 777-300ER has 2 engines producing 230,000lbs of thrust or about twice as much as the B-52. One GE90-115 engine on the 777 can move enough air to fill the New Orleans SuperDome in just 1 minute and its outer diameter is roughly the same size as that of the DC-9 fuselage.
Came across this Website by accident, looking for some thing completely different ! (The wonders of the search engine….)
It did remind me though – I heard that the B52 service life was being extended until 2045 or even longer. – Is this true? and will this make the B52 the longest serving military aircraft ever?
Thanks
Phil
I happen to work for a defense aerospace contractor. Yes, the B52 service life can be extended that long and it would potentially make it the longest serving military aircraft but I actually doubt that it will be kept that long.
The aircraft has already seen more duty cycles than planned for over the past 7 years and it is becoming more and more expensive to fly each year. Engines can be renewed as well as cockpit avionics but that comes at an ever increasing cost.
The youngest aircraft left the factory in 1962 and has seen upgrades over the year and could see additional upgrades still but at some point the general age of the airframe overwhelms the cost to keep it flying. Addding the most modern engines available isn’t possible because the high by-pass engines won’t fit easily or without major modifications to the wing.
If it is kept until 2040(or later), the fleet will most likely be reduced in operational size with retired aircraft being used as spares while the missions are reduced to extend its availabilit for conflicts.
There are some KC-135 aircraft in the fleet that are actually older at present although they will be among the first to be replaced when and if the KC-X program goes into production.
Its dispatch rate is truly impressive for a military bomber and I suspect its replacement will be designed to be as reliable if not more reliable with an even larger payload. Think in terms of a 777-like bomber.