Discussion is underway to submit a B-52 re-engining proposal to Air Force leadership within the “next few months,” commander of Air Force Global Strike Command Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson said at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando. AFGSC put together a team with Air Force Materiel Command, acquisition officials, and industry and, “I think everybody would say it makes good business sense in terms of sav[ing] a lot of gas with some more efficient engines,” Wilson said, Feb. 13. “We have maintenance costs that are going up and will continue to go up in the future, because we’re going to fly the B-52 for another 25 years,” he explained. Wilson said his team is working to “put together a business case proposal,” bring together potential partners, and “get some skin in the game” for re-engining the fleet as soon as funds, planning, and resources permit.
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.