B-52 Superfortress
A classic aircraft design still in service more than fifty years after the first version flew, the Boeing B-52 is a heavy bomber operated by the United States Air Force. The official "name" of Stratofortress has never been widely used; perhaps the most common name for it in the military is BUFF, an abbreviation for Big Ugly Fat Fellow[1]. The final model, B-52H, is expected to stay in active service until at least 2030. [2] The B-52 celebrated its 50th anniversary (first flight April 1952) in April 2002 and is the longest serving combat aircraft in the world - a total of 744 were built.
The B-52H entered service in 1961 and 104 were built. The last was delivered in 1962. However, due to extensive system and structural upgrades, its service life is expected to continue beyond the year 2030.
Originally intended to fly high and fast to targets in the Soviet Union, improvements in the Soviet integrated air defense system made such a flight path suicidal, except when firing long-range air-to-surface missiles. In the nuclear delivery role, the aircraft was mechanically strengthened and given penetration flight paths at extremely low altitude.
In its present uses, the B-52 flies at high altitude, generally over areas where the air defenses are nonexistent or have been suppressed.
Flight systems
System | Component |
---|---|
AN/ASQ-151 electro-optical viewing system (EVS) | AN/AAQ-6 Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) |
AN/ASQ-151 electro-optical viewing system (EVS) | AN/AVQ-22 low-light-level television camera (LLTV) |
Offensive armament
Avionics
System | Component | Function |
---|---|---|
AN/ASQ-176 Offensive Avionics System (OAS) | Northrop Grumman strategic radar | |
AN/ASQ-176 Offensive Avionics System (OAS) | Honeywell radar altimeter | |
AN/ASQ-176 Offensive Avionics System (OAS) | Smiths attitude heading and reference system | |
AN/ASQ-176 Offensive Avionics System (OAS) | TERCOM terrain contour mapping | |
AN/ASQ-176 Offensive Avionics System (OAS) | AN/ASN-131 | inertial navigation system (to be replaced with AN/SNU-84 |
AN/ASQ-176 Offensive Avionics System (OAS) | AN/ASQ-38 | bombing and navigation system |
Weapons
Current B-52H aircraft carry all munitions in the internal bomb bay, although other models have variously carried air-to-surface missiles, decoys, or racks for additional conventional bombs on the wings.
The B-52H, with a weapons payload of more than 70,000lb, is capable of carrying the most diverse range of nuclear and non-nuclear weapons of any combat aircraft.
Weapon | Type | Quantity | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
B83 | gravity bomb with megaton-range yield | up to 8 | |
B61 | gravity bomb of moderate yield, | up to 8 | one version with limited subsurface penetration |
AGM-86A Air Launched Cruise Missile | standoff missile | up to 20 | up to 1500mi/2400 km range |
The conventional weapons payload is four AGM-142 Raptor missiles, 20 AGM-86C Conventional Air Launched Cruise Missiles (CALCM), 12 Joint Stand Off Weapons (JSOW), 12 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and 16 Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser (WCMD). WCMD was first deployed by the B-52 in 2002 in Afghanistan. JSOW entered service in 2003 and was deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Weapon | Type | Quantity | Comments |
---|---|---|---|
Mk. 82 bomb | 500 pound high explosive | up to 51 | can be converted to JDAM |
Mk. 83 bomb | 1000 pound high explosive | up to 30 | can be converted to JDAM |
Mk. 84 bomb/JDAM | 2000 pound high explosive | up to 12 | usually configured as JDAM |
AGM-84 Harpoon | anti-shipping missile | up to 8 | - |
Small Diameter Bomb | Gravity bomb; can be guided | up to 32 | For minimum collateral damage |
AGM-164 Joint Standoff Weapon | Conventional air-launched cruise missileanti-shipping missile | up to 12 | 1200 km (750 miles) range; AGM-86C blast-fragmentation, AGM-86D hard target |
Wind-Corrected Munitions Dispenser | gliding, guided cluster bomb | up to 16 | |
AGM-86 CALCM | Conventional air-launched cruise missile | up to 8 | 1200 km (750 miles) range; AGM-86C blast-fragmentation, AGM-86D hard target |
Naval mine | up to 20 |
Defensive systems
While early B-52 aircraft were equipped with radar-controlled 20mm autocannon in the tail, all defensive equipment is now for electronic warfare, including defense against heat-seeking missiles.
Designation | Description |
---|---|
AN/ALQ-172(V)2 | Radar detection and jamming |
AN/ALR-20A | Radar detection and threat prioritization |
AN/ALR-46 | Radar warning |
AN/ALQ-155 | High power jammer |
AN/ALQ-122 | Dece[tove jammer |
AN/ALR-155 | High power jammer |
AN/ALQ-122 | Tail-mounted radar warning |
AN/ALR-155 | High power jammer |
AN/ALE-20 | Infrared flare decoy dispenser |
AN/ALE-24 | chaff dispenser for radar reflectors |
- ↑ "Fellow" is used with due regard to Citizendium's family-friendliness policy
- ↑ B-52H Stratofortress Long-Range Multi-Role Bomber, USA