The B-52 is getting up there (last one rolled off the line in 1962), but USAF has an ongoing effort to keep the BUFF at the top of its form, including adding upgraded avionics. The Air Force has awarded a $28 million contract modification to Lockheed Martin for the B-52 avionics midlife improvement program. Lockheed is to complete the work at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker AFB, Okla. The Air Force expects to keep the veteran bomber in service until around 2040. (Read about AMI here.)
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.