Summary and Key Points: Geopolitical tensions have highlighted concerns about the U.S. Air Force’s diminished bomber fleet, which has reduced from over 400 to 157, many of which are aging B-52s. The upcoming B-21 Raider aims to address this shortfall, but may not be operational in time if a conflict arises soon. Enhancing existing bombers' versatility and lethality is under consideration, but using them on aircraft carriers is impractical.
-The B-52 “Stratofortress,” introduced seven decades ago, remains a primary strategic nuclear and conventional weapons platform due to its extensive ordnance capacity but is too large to operate from carriers.
-The B-52 will continue to serve until the 2040s with the B-52J variant.
As geopolitical tensions across the globe continue to escalate, some U.S. officials are worried that the country’s current bomber fleet would be too small to fend off adversaries if a full-blown war were to erupt. The Air Force’s once 400-plus bomber inventory has dwindled down to a mere 157 airframes, many of which are outdated B-52s. To make matters more concerning, the U.S. has not produced a new bomber platform in two decades. The upcoming B-21 Raider is designed to rectify this shortfall, however, the stealth aircraft may not make it to the skies in time if a kinetic conflict emerges before the end of the decade.
Considering the service’s dangerously small bomber fleet, some have questioned whether or not these existing airframes could be made more versatile and lethal prior to the introduction of the Raider. A few have even questioned whether or not some of these bombers could potentially ever fly from an aircraft carrier. To put it simply, no, none of the Air Force’s hefty bombers will ever be able to conduct operations off a carrier. However, other capabilities and enhancements could be incorporated into the platform in order to make it more deadly in the upcoming years.
The legendary B-52 “Stratofortress” first took to the skies more than seven decades ago. When the long-range, subsonic aircraft was introduced, its capabilities were truly unparalleled.
The platform was designed in the aftermath of the Air Material Command’s requirements for a new strategic bomber able to “carry out the strategic mission without dependence upon advanced and intermediate bases controlled by other countries.” In order to achieve this objective, engineers got to work towards the end of the Second World War to create a new bomber able to cruise at a speed of at least 300 miles per hour with a combat radius of 5,000 miles.
Boeing eventually beat out other big-name manufacturers in the industry with its B-52 prototype, including Glenn L. Martin Company and Consolidated Aircraft.
Perhaps the most significant capability surrounding the B-52 bomber is its ordnance-lugging threshold. The Stratofortress is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory, according to the Military, including cluster bombs, gravity bombs, joint direct attack munitions and precision guided missiles. The most updated B-52 variant today is the “H” variant. Nicknamed the Buff (big ugly fat fellow), the B-52H remains the Air Force’s primary strategic nuclear and conventional weapons platform.
As its moniker suggested, this airframe is quite massive. In fact, the bomber can carry more than 70,000 pounds of diverse weapons including AGM-84 Harpoon missiles, AGM-86A air-launched cruise missiles, Joint Direct Attack Munitions.
This armament capacity is astounding, and obviously also precludes the bomber from being light enough to be able to ever take-off/land from an aircraft carrier.
However, the Stratofortress will continue to serve the Air Force until the 2040’s with the introduction of the upcoming B-52J variant.
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.
Image Credit: Creative Commons.
