FLYING Magazine
The U.S. Air Force faces cost overruns, schedule delays, or performance issues for the majority of its 13 programs aimed at modernizing the B-52 bomber, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
Researchers found that 10 projects face at least one of these issues, including those aimed at upgrading the B-52’s engines and radar, which are contending with all three. According to GAO, the engine and radar efforts have an estimated price tag of $18 million, or about 88 percent of the $21 billion the Air Force is spending on modernization. They are also the most time-intensive aspects of the program, it said.
The Air Force wants to keep the 1950s-era bomber flying into the 2050s and is undertaking one of the most expensive modernization efforts in its history to accomplish this. It covers updates to the aircraft’s engines, radar, avionics, communications, software, crew compartments, and weapons systems. Out of about 750 B-52s produced for the U.S. Air Force, 75 remain in operation.
According to GAO, the B-52 remains a critical Air Force asset despite entering service more than 70 years ago. It is one of the military’s few nuclear-capable airplanes and forms part of the nuclear triad, with a range of 8,800 miles without refueling and payload of 70,000 pounds. For comparison, the newer Northrop Grumman B-2 has an unfueled range of about 6,000 nm and payload capacity of 40,000 to 60,000 pounds.
The B-52 is also expected to complement the still-in-development B-21 Raider.
The Air Force has deployed B-52s on missions in Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury. As evidence of its importance, the branch in 2016 resurrected one of the bombers from its 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) storage and preservation facility, known as the “Boneyard,” in Tucson, Arizona, after another crashed on takeoff at Anderson Air Force Base on Guam in 2016.
B-52 Modernization Faces Hurdles
The Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) is one of the most critical pieces of the effort. Boeing is the prime contractor and earlier this year received $2 billion to continue its work. CERP will replace the B-52’s older Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines with Rolls-Royce F130s and modern generators.
According to GAO, CERP costs have ballooned by 38 percent since 2018. It concluded that program delays could make sustaining the TF33 engines more difficult and even “result in too few B-52s to support operational requirements.” In 2023, the program was delayed about 18 months after engineers discovered a flaw that could cause an in-flight engine stall, and GAO said it faces “ongoing development challenges.”
Among GAO’s recommendations to the Air Force was that the branch should hold off on a CERP production decision until it fully analyzes the program’s obstacles. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center said in May that the first bomber is scheduled to arrive for modifications later this year.
The Radar Modernization Program (RMP), also led by Boeing, is another critical piece of the effort aimed at replacing aging legacy radars with modern active electronically scanned array (ASEA) sensors from Raytheon. GAO similarly found that RMP costs have grown by about 30 percent. It also said that the Air Force removed some of its performance requirements, concluding that it will “receive less capability while paying more for the program.”
The RMP in June suffered a tragedy when a B-52 conducting a test flight for the program crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) in California, killing all eight occupants. The accident was the deadliest involving the B-52 since 1982. After the crash, the Air Force said a replacement bomber is undergoing radar modifications and will be ready for testing later this year. It continues to support an ongoing investigation into the incident.
GAO said both the engine and radar programs are “at risk for additional cost, schedule, and performance challenges.” Each project has been delayed more than three years.
Researchers also said the Air Force is not taking sufficient advantage of digital engineering tools and that disorganization could cause future maintenance and availability issues. It highlighted maintenance capacity issues, with crews navigating crowded hangars to perform both modernization upgrades and routine maintenance. It added that teams sometimes struggle to complete repairs due to a chronic parts shortage, keeping the bombers grounded for longer periods.
GAO’s recommendations for the Air Force include reassessing development and production risks, using digital engineering tools to speed up development and reduce cost and schedule risks, and examining how capacity and maintenance issues could further delay modernization.
Earlier this year, an investigation by digital news site Breaking Defense similarly found that the Air Force’s next-generation T-7 Red Hawk trainers may not be flight-ready by the time officials expect them to be. The investigation cites Air Force documents that indicate Red Hawks produced through 2032 may come with “serious” airworthiness risk. Keeping the program on schedule could cost an additional $1.5 billion.