The Air Force expects to have industry input in hand by “this summer” for re-engining the B-52H bomber fleet in the near future, according to Air Force Global Strike Command boss Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson. In preliminary discussions “almost every industry engine partner has come forward and said they can give us a 35 percent more fuel-efficient engine,” said Wilson at an AFA-sponsored talk on Capitol Hill on April 21. “What that means is that I can get about 35 percent more range out of the B-52,” which already boasts substantial reach, he said. An added bonus is that a more fuel-efficient B-52 would “use about a third less” tanker support, said Wilson, allowing high-demand tankers to reallocate to support other missions. He said initial analysis points to a one-for-one engine swapout, thus keeping the B-52’s eight-engine configuration instead of moving to four turbofans. “We’d have to do less modification to other parts of the B-52 to keep an eight-engine variant, so we are moving forward” under that design assumption, he said.
U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagles have roared out of Barnes Air National Guard Base, Mass., for the last time. The 104th Fighter Wing’s last three F-15Cs departed the base Oct. 23 for the “Boneyard” at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., ending the aircraft's era on the frontlines of homeland defense.
