WASHINGTON — After years of delays and rising costs, the modernization of the decades-old B-52 Stratofortress is now on solid ground, a top service official said before the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee.
William Bailey, who is performing the duties of the Air Force’s acquisition czar, said on Wednesday that he met with government and industry officials “to get to the bottom of what’s been going on [with] the program” to upgrade the bomber, confirming he was satisfied with the results.
“I think you’ll find that we have stabilized the cost and schedule,” Bailey said in response to questions from Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La.
Higgens, in turn, responded, “It’s a lot of money. Some of us watch that money very carefully. … We’d rather see the appropriate amount of money authorized and appropriated than to see cost overruns.”
Two key upgrades are expected to keep a total of 76 B-52 bombers flying until at least the 2050s, and both have experienced cost growth and delays. One effort, known as the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, is replacing the bomber’s eight aging Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines with Rolls-Royce F130 powerplants.
The engine replacement is expected to cost about $15 billion, Air Force officials said in 2024, up from an earlier estimate of $12.5 billion. The upgrade’s targeted initial operational capability has also slid about three years to 2033, according to Government Accountability Office assessments. The Air Force earlier this month announced the program passed a critical design review, paving the way to modify aircraft for flight testing.
The second upgrade, a new radar for the plane, has also seen delays and rising costs. Last year, officials revealed the radar upgrade suffered what’s known as a Nunn-McCurdy cost breach, which one member of Congress said entailed a 17 percent hike per unit. The Air Force said then that a finalized cost estimate was not available, though officials had previously pegged its price tag at around $3.3 billion, a $1 billion jump. The radar’s fielding is now expected in 2030, according to GAO, also a delay of three years.
Both modernization programs are led by prime contractor Boeing. The Air Force did not respond by press time when asked for updated cost and schedule estimates.
A New Lease On Life For B-1, B-2
The Air Force is revamping the B-52 as part of a roadmap for a two-bomber fleet, the other being the in-production B-21 Raider built by Northrop Grumman. The service will eventually retire its other two bombers, the B-1 Lancer and the B-2 Spirit. But both are now expected to hang around a little longer.
According to fiscal 2027 budget documents and testimony from officials, the Air Force plans to fly the B-1 through 2037, reversing prior plans to axe the bomber earlier in the decade. The service even recently revived one aircraft, pulling it from the boneyard.
In written testimony [PDF] for the Wednesday hearing, Bailey and Air Force Lt. Gen. David Tabor said the service’s FY27 budget would invest nearly $433 million to equip 44 B-1s with features like satellite communications and external pylons. Another $27 million will be used to integrate a hypersonic glide weapon dubbed ARRW.
Another roughly $744 million in FY27 would be spent on the stealthy but small fleet of 19 B-2s, which were used to strike Iranian nuclear facilities last year. While previously slated for retirement in the early 2030s as well, Air Force officials now say the bomber will remain in service as long as necessary, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Budget documents further revealed a novel bomber could be in the works. As previously reported by Aviation Week, FY27 documents show a plan to conduct a heavy bomber analysis of alternatives, which will explore “future long range strike requirements to determine future B-52 requirements and costs and/or a new heavy bomber aircraft configuration and costs.” The results of that study could potentially shape the B-52’s future, or what might come next.
“The Air Force has not changed its program of record and remains committed to a future two-bomber fleet comprised of the B-21 and B-52. The Air Force continues to assess future long-range strike requirements and what capabilities may be needed beyond currently fielded and planned systems. As part of that deliberate planning process, the Air Force is conducting an Analysis of Alternatives to help inform potential future options,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement to Breaking Defense.
The analysis is classified and typically takes about 18 months to complete, according to the spokesperson, who said more information would not be available while that process plays out.
