The Air Force has begun a series of major upgrades to its oldest aircraft — the B-52H Stratofortress — to keep the fleet viable until about 2050.
The iconic B-52 airframes first came off the production line more than six decades ago.
The service currently possesses 76 of the long-range subsonic strategic bombers, split between Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, and operated by the service’s Global Strike Command as well as Air Force Reserve Command.
The B-52H has a robust airframe and flexible mission capabilities for both conventional and nuclear warfare, which has allowed it to keep flying as much younger aircraft are retired, said Maj. Jacob Davis, chief B-52 requirements officer at Global Strike Command.
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BUFF=Big Ugly Fat F$%^er. Remember the version of the PEACE symbol with the B-52 standing on it's tail, and the caption "PEACE Hell, Bomb Hanoi?"
ReplyDeleteThis bird is still flying. That says a lot for it's original engineering specs. Another testament to the sliderule.
Indeed and I used to have a Bomb Hanoi pin in Vietnam.:)
DeleteEven if you could find a sliderule, let alone afford it; who knows how to use the damn thing. A lost art when the lights go out. The fastest known production aircraft in the world to date, the SR-71 "Blackbird," was first flown in 1963, was designed with a sliderule. We went to the friggin moon with sliderule basics. Since everything went computerized (original sliderule tech as well) we have done a lot of real cool things. Yet the defense of our Nation rests on an aircraft that was designed, and built, with a piece of wood, w/ numbers and lines drawn on it. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING to comprehend, eh? I am going to open up the second bottle of wine, cook up some vittles and contemplate it. Just finished Season 1, Episode 10, of NETFLIX Original "LOST IN SPACE."
ReplyDeleteFeeling kind of nerdy, reminiscent. ...Okay, Okay maybe a lil bit toasty too, I suspect. Thanks Brock for all that you do.
:) & thank you.
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