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
Air Education & Training Command received its first T-7A Red Hawk when the long-awaited next-generation jet trainer landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph on Dec. 5.
There is a new entrant in the highly competitive field of collaborative combat aircraft—semi-autonomous drones meant to fly alongside manned combat aircraft. Northrop Grumman unveiled its new Project Talon aircraft to a small group of reporters at the facilities of its subsidiary Scaled Composites.
The United States Air Force is flying less than historic norms and funding for acquisition and readiness is on a path to further hollow out this too small and old force to that is incapable of sustaining an enduring combat air campaign.
For an investment of less than $24 million, the Air Force was able to return a damaged B-2 bomber to flying status in November. The service offered an unusually detailed description of the methods used to fix the stealth aircraft.
An Air Force F-16 Thunderbird crashed Dec. 3 near Death Valley, Calif., with the pilot ejecting safely. In a statement, the Thunderbirds—officially the U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron—said the incident occurred at approximately 10:45 a.m. local time “during a training mission over controlled airspace in California.”
The U.S. Air Force’s KC-46 Pegasus fleet hit a major milestone Dec. 2 with the delivery of its 99th and 100th aircraft at Travis Air Force Base, Calif.
The Air Force’s airlift fleet is in desperate need of modern connectivity, spare parts, and other innovations to keep going amid growing demand and modernization plans still in their infancy, according to a former senior leader and a new research paper from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
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.
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