Some of the B-52s assigned to Minot AFB, N.D., will temporarily be housed at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., while Minot’s runway undergoes repairs, reported the Minot Daily News. The rest of the base’s bombers are slated to deploy with the 69th Bomb Squadron to Guam for six months as part of the ongoing continuous bomber presence there. The center section runway repairs are expected to cost $32.8 million and are the final portion of a three-year upgrade project, slated for completion in October.
The Air Force is planning to invest nearly $1.7 billion to continue modernizing the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers over the next five years, revising earlier plans to retire those aircraft before the B-21 Raider is fielded in bulk.