A B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme parks after landing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Sept. 30, 2024. A heritage orange test and evaluation paint scheme represents a rich history of substantial advancements and progress in the B-52’s lifecycle. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
B-52s touch down frequently at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., but the one that landed Sept. 30 looked a little different.
Sporting bright orange paint on the cockpit, wing tips, engine nacelles, and tail, the Stratofortress seemed dressed for an early start to hunting season in Louisiana; in fact, the special paint scheme was a nod to the B-52’s roots more than 60 years ago.
“The orange color represents the test and evaluations conducted during the 1950s and 1960s, honoring the B-52’s history,” the 2nd Bomb Wing noted in a photo caption of the B-52 landing.
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme touches down and deploys a parachute for a landing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Sept. 30, 2024. The orange color represents the test and evaluations conducted during the 1950s and 1960s, honoring the B-52’s history. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
A B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme begins to slow down after landing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Sept. 30, 2024. The test orange scheme was used to remind everyone of the B-52’s incredible journey and continuous progress made in the U.S. Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
A B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme parks after landing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Sept. 30, 2024. The orange paint scheme was used to signify the B-52’s modernization while paying respect to its legacy. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
U.S. Air Force Aircrew from the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Wing, gather beside a B-52H Stratofortress with an orange paint scheme at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Sept. 30, 2024. A heritage orange test and evaluation paint scheme represents a rich history of substantial advancements and progress in the B-52’s life cycle. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
A B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme parks after landing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Sept. 30, 2024. A heritage orange test and evaluation paint scheme represents a rich history of substantial advancements and progress in the B-52’s lifecycle. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
U.S. Air Force Aircrew from the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53d Wing, gather beside a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Sept. 30, 2024. The orange color represents a test and evaluation paint scheme based on the test and evaluations conducted during the 1950s and 1960s, honoring the B-52’s history. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Wing, gather beside a B-52H Stratofortress with a special orange paint scheme at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Sept. 30, 2024. The orange color represents a test and evaluation paint scheme based on the test and evaluations conducted during the 1950s and 1960s, honoring the B-52’s history. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
U.S. Air Force Airmen from the 49th Test Evaluation Squadron, 53rd Wing, gather beside a B-52H Stratofortress with an orange paint scheme at Barksdale Air Force Base, La. Sept. 30, 2024. The orange paint scheme was used as a reminder to the B-52’s long standing power and presence in the U.S. Air Force since the 1950s. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Aaron Hill)
Collectively dubbed “motherships,” the two sported orange markings at times to better identify them as test vehicles. The Buff landing at Barksdale in September matched the pattern on “The High and Mighty One.” That airframe’s orange accents are still on display at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Arizona.
A B-52 mothership carries the X-15 aloft for a research flight in April 1960, leaving behind high-altitude, as Air Force Maj. Robert M. White readies for his first X-15 flight. Courtesy photo/NASA
Fittingly, the orange-accented B-52 that landed at Barksdale is assigned to the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, the bombers’ operational testing lead.
A photographer identified as Redhome Aviation posted images to Facebook on Sept. 30, showing the bomber taking off from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., where B-52s get depot-level maintenance.
The Air Force is upgrading its B-52Hs with new engines, radars, and cockpit equipment over the coming years. The changes will carry a new designator, B-52J, and keep the bombers in service into the 2050s, when the airframes will approach 100 years old.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
An F-16 pilot was awarded a Silver Star for a harrowing mission in which he dodged multiple surface-to-air missiles during the opening weeks of the operation against the Houthis in Yemen earlier this year.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
Decisive combat airpower is foundational to U.S. national security, crucial both to deterring war and fighting and winning when necessary. Advanced propulsion is among the crucial underlying technologies that give America a decisive edge in air combat.
The Air Force F-35As that participated in Operation Midnight Hammer—the June 22 strike against Iranian uranium enrichment and nuclear research facilities—conducted both suppression of enemy air defenses, also called SEAD, and provided fighter cover for the strike force as it departed Iran, the service acknowledged Nov. 24.
A B-52 bomber from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., flew over the Caribbean Sea and near Venezuela on Nov. 24, according to open-source flight tracking data—the second time in four days such a mission has unfolded.
An MQ-9 Reaper drone belonging to the U.S. Air Force crashed off the coast of South Korea on Nov. 24, according to a statement from the 8th Fighter Wing and local media reports.
A newly-released Air Force plan to replace the C-5 and C-17 airlifters with a single airplane type called the Next-Generation Air Lifter (NGAL) will keep those fleets in service another 20 and 50 years, respectively. The plan will likely require a service life extension for the C-17 fleet.
The Air Force is looking to adapt the laser-guided rocket pods it currently mounts on fighter aircraft for targeting swarms of small drones from the ground.
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