The B-52 Stratofortress has been a mainstay of the US Air Force since the early days of the Cold War when the enormous bomber entered service.
Though comparatively ancient—the B-52 is by far the oldest aircraft in American service—its ability to carry vast amounts of munitions great distances and loiter on station for hours at a time has kept it relevant, particularly against targets throughout the Middle East.
However, despite the B-52’s continued usefulness long after the Cold War, the bomber’s modernization program and its higher-than-projected costs triggered the Nunn-McCurdy Act.
First made into law in the early 1980s, the Nunn-McCurdy Act stipulates that the Department of Defense must notify Congress should a defense project’s costs increase above specific thresholds. Designed to rein in spending on defense projects, the act ensures that a Selected Acquisition Report is sent to lawmakers should cost estimates increase by 15 percent. In case of a 25 percent or greater increase, the Pentagon is required to justify the program’s utility to national security—or face the cancellation of that program.
B-52J: Reengined and Reimagined
Late last year, the B-52’s reengineering effort, led by Rolls-Royce and their F130 engine, passed a critical design review late last year as part of the B-52’s new “J” designation. “This milestone is the culmination of over two years of detailed design work and close collaboration between teams at Rolls-Royce, the Air Force, and Boeing,” Rolls-Royce said in a press release. And while the B-52J’s new engines are moving along, other program parts are falling behind.
The upgrade to the old bombers is one of the most comprehensive in decades. The B-52s selected for the J upgrade will see new engines mated to their wing pods, new radars, new wiring, and other navigation and communication improvements. Though a critical design review for the B-52 is expected in late summer, the bombers will not reach Initial Operational Capability until 2033, three years later than initially projected, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
Increasing costs of the radar upgrade specifically have raised the specter of the Nunn-McCurdy.
The B-52’s AN/APQ-166, a legacy radar system, will be replaced with the newer, electronically scanned AN/APQ-188 Bomber Modernized Radar System, which is also used by the F/A-18 and F-15 platforms.
“Replacement of the aging legacy radar is intended to increase system reliability and reduce sustainment costs. The Bomber Modernized Radar System will also provide new high-resolution ground mapping capabilities to improve target location accuracy and capabilities to track moving surface and air targets,” according to a partial report on the radar from the Office of the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation.
The B-52’s radome cover will be modified and streamlined to accommodate the newer, smaller radar — but the modification costs for the improved radar increased by more than 15 percent, triggering the Nunn-McCurdy rule.
“We don’t believe it’s going to be a critical Nunn-McCurdy [25 percent or greater cost increases]. We don’t believe we’re close to having a critical Nunn-McCurdy, but we are beyond the significant threshold and we’re working through the process to inform Congress of that,” Darlene Costello, currently leading US Air Force acquisitions, told Breaking Defense.
The crux of the issue is seemingly mating and integrating digital systems onto a platform manufactured to leverage older analog technologies. Subsequently, cost overruns are a problem.
Into the Future for B-52J?
Though the B-52 lacks the stealth capabilities of newer jets like the US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bomber or the upcoming B-21 Raider, Air Force officials hope the older bomber’s range and payload capacity can keep it relevant. Combined with new engines for greater range and fuel economy and digital radar with significantly expanded capabilities, the B-52J, it seems, is receiving a concerted modernization effort.
191209-N-HG846-2001 NORFOLK,Va. (Dec. 9, 2019) This poster is designed to communicate the aircraft specifications of the B2 Spirit Stealth Bomber. The B2 bomber was introduced on Jan. 1, 1997 by the Northrop Corporation.
A KC-135 Stratotanker from the 22nd Air Refueling Wing refuels a B-2 Spirit from the 509th Bomb Wing, Aug. 29, 2012. A B-2 Spirit is designed to be very difficult to detect so it can better engage enemies during war efforts. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Airman 1st Class Maurice A. Hodges)
A crew chief assigned to the 110th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, prepares a B-2 Spirit for departure from Keflavik Air Base, Iceland, Sept. 11, 2021. The stealth bomber provides unique capabilities to combatant commanders with their ability to strike targets without being detected. Operating out of Iceland allows Airmen and the B-2 to assure allies by contributing to security in the European theater. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Victoria Hommel)
If successful, the B-52J modernization could inject mass into a theater that is munition-poor: the Indo-Pacific. Given the significant stretches of open ocean that separate the remote atolls and specks of land that fleck the ocean surface, the great range would be of high importance to a contemporary war in the Pacific. The B-52’s combination of range and payload is a unique platform that would be of great use in that theater.
However, lingering questions about how much the B-52J modernization push will cost cast a shadow on the project’s future. Triggering a “critical” Nunn-McCurdy level of cost overrun might not doom the future of the B-52—but it certainly would not be a positive program outcome.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
