Post by barb43 on Jul 28, 2020 3:10:25 GMT
Great Air Force piece ... had to share with y'all!
In a Future Bomber Force, Old and Ugly Beats New and Snazzy
www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/26/future-bomber-force-old-and-ugly-beats-new-and-snazzy.html?ESRC=eb_200727.nl
In the topsy-turvy world of U.S. strategic bombers, older and uglier sometimes beats newer and snazzier.
As the Air Force charts a bomber future in line with the Pentagon's new focus on potential war with China or Russia, the youngest and flashiest — the stealthy B-2, costing a hair-raising $2 billion each — is to be retired first. The oldest and stodgiest — the Vietnam-era B-52 — will go last. It could still be flying when it is 100 years old.
The B-52, which entered service in the mid-1950s and is known to crews as the Big Ugly Fat Fellow, keeps finding ways to stay relevant. It is equipped to drop or launch the widest array of weapons in the entire Air Force inventory. The plane is so valuable that the Air Force twice in recent years has brought a B-52 back from the grave — taking long-retired planes from a desert “boneyard” in Arizona and restoring them to active service.
The B-52, however, will fly on. It is so old that it made a mark on American pop culture more than half a century ago. It lent its name to a 1960s beehive hairstyle that resembled the plane's nosecone, and the plane featured prominently in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 black comedy, “Dr. Strangelove.”
Rather than retire it, the Air Force is planning to equip the Boeing behemoth with new engines, new radar technology and other upgrades to keep it flying into the 2050s. It will be a “stand off” platform from which to launch cruise missiles and other weapons from beyond the reach of hostile air defenses.
The article, naturally, contains an equal amount of information on the B-2, the first long-range bomber built with stealth, or radar-evading, technology designed to defeat the best Soviet air defenses, as well as an all-new, nuclear-capable bomber for the future, the B-21 Raider. All in all, this is a very interesting article.
In a Future Bomber Force, Old and Ugly Beats New and Snazzy
www.military.com/daily-news/2020/07/26/future-bomber-force-old-and-ugly-beats-new-and-snazzy.html?ESRC=eb_200727.nl
In the topsy-turvy world of U.S. strategic bombers, older and uglier sometimes beats newer and snazzier.
As the Air Force charts a bomber future in line with the Pentagon's new focus on potential war with China or Russia, the youngest and flashiest — the stealthy B-2, costing a hair-raising $2 billion each — is to be retired first. The oldest and stodgiest — the Vietnam-era B-52 — will go last. It could still be flying when it is 100 years old.
The B-52, which entered service in the mid-1950s and is known to crews as the Big Ugly Fat Fellow, keeps finding ways to stay relevant. It is equipped to drop or launch the widest array of weapons in the entire Air Force inventory. The plane is so valuable that the Air Force twice in recent years has brought a B-52 back from the grave — taking long-retired planes from a desert “boneyard” in Arizona and restoring them to active service.
The B-52, however, will fly on. It is so old that it made a mark on American pop culture more than half a century ago. It lent its name to a 1960s beehive hairstyle that resembled the plane's nosecone, and the plane featured prominently in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 black comedy, “Dr. Strangelove.”
Rather than retire it, the Air Force is planning to equip the Boeing behemoth with new engines, new radar technology and other upgrades to keep it flying into the 2050s. It will be a “stand off” platform from which to launch cruise missiles and other weapons from beyond the reach of hostile air defenses.
The article, naturally, contains an equal amount of information on the B-2, the first long-range bomber built with stealth, or radar-evading, technology designed to defeat the best Soviet air defenses, as well as an all-new, nuclear-capable bomber for the future, the B-21 Raider. All in all, this is a very interesting article.
