The enhanced B-52 platform is expected to play a critical role in the Air Force’s bomber strategy for years to come.
Efforts to incorporate new upgrades to the Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress may be delayed by at least a year, according to the Air Force’s top weapons tester. In the latest report from the Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test & Evaluation, the Stratofortress’s modernization program is now being pushed back for fiscal year 2026. As part of this effort, the existing bomber platform will also receive the latest Raytheon active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar. While price jumps may be delaying the imminent arrival of the upgraded Stratofortress series, the enhanced platform is expected to play a critical role in the Air Force’s bomber strategy for years to come. In fact, the service has indicated that these upgraded B-52s will continue to fly well into the 2060s if maintained as planned.
The legendary B-52 bomber embarked on its maiden flight more than seven decades ago. Equipped with several modernization overhauls over the years, the platform has remained relevant even as newer counterparts have been introduced. First envisioned at the end of World War II, the B-52 was conceptualized to achieve air superiority. The Air Force specifically desired a platform that could fly at speeds in excess of 300 miles per hour, with a combat radius of 5,000 miles. Perhaps most importantly, any new bomber would be designed with a hefty ordnance load. Initially, the service considered design proposals from several of the big-name manufacturers at the time. Ultimately, Boeing’s Model 462 was awarded the contract and the B-52’s origin story officially began.
When the Stratofortress first reached operational capacity, it instantly became a Cold War classic. Able to reach high subsonic speeds at great altitudes and provide close-air support, offensive counter-air, strategic attack, and maritime operations, the B-52 really represented a first-world bomber. Over the years, several iterations of the bomber were introduced. The latest B-52H model is considered the most advanced Stratofortress to take to the skies. Equipped with a vastly larger payload and a longer range, this variant remains the Air Force’s primary nuclear and conventional weapons platform.
When the modernized B-52J reaches operational capacity, the introduction of premiere AESA radar technology will make the platform even more unstoppable. As detailed by the Aviation Geek Club, “The new B-52 radar is based on AESA technologies developed from RTX’s pioneering AN/APG-79 radar. As the USAF migrates toward the two-bomber fleet of B-21s and B-52s the new AESA radar, in the form of the APG-79B4, is a ‘game changer’ for the BUFF. The APG-79 is effectively the same radar as on the export version of the Navy F/A-18 fighter, with the array turned ‘upside down’ so it looks more down at the ground than up at the sky.”
In addition to the upgraded Stratofortress, the Air Force’s upcoming next-generation B-21 Raider platform is continuing through the development pipeline. Expected to host emerging technologies and futuristic features alike, the Raider will certainly lead the service’s bomber team when in service.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
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