Senators have wasted precious little time in attempting to thwart Air Force plans to draw down the B-52 fleet, passing an amendment to the Fiscal 2007 defense budget request that would add nearly $2 billion over the next five years for the venerable bombers. The two Democratic Senators from North Dakota—Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad—announced the amendment (co-sponsored by the Louisiana Senate delegation), saying in a joint statement that the B-52s at Minot AFB, N.D., and Barksdale AFB, La., are “still a tremendous asset for our military because they are cost-effective to maintain.” They noted, too, that USAF believes the old bombers have up to 30 more years of life left in them. According to Conrad, the B-52 is the “best bomb truck for the buck.”
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.