The Rolls-Royce F130 engine, as it will serve on the B-52J, has passed Critical Design Review, the company announced. The CDR happened on time, but the overall program continues to lag original timetables.
CERP
Initial operational capability for the B-52J—the new designation for the bomber after extensive re-engining and upgrade programs—won’t be achieved until 2033. The three-year delay is due to issues both with its new engines and new radar, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report.
Initial planning has begun for the retirement of the B-1 and B-2 bombers, but the game plan depends largely on progress in fielding the B-21 Raider—and on Congress—the Air Force’s bomber program executive officer said. In an Air Force bomber roadmap from 2018, the service ...
We love letters! Write to us at letters@afa.org. To be published, letters should be timely, relevant and concise. Include your name and location. Letters may be edited for space and the editors have final say on which are published.
Forty years since the Air Force first started thinking about replacing the eight engines on the B-52, the job is finally underway. The re-engining is the centerpiece of an upgrade that will keep the Stratofortress operationally relevant for another 20 to 30 years. Two new F130 ...
Rolls-Royce North America CEO Tom Bell chalks up the company's win of the B-52 commercial re-engining program to a comprehensive digital model of the bomber's wing, demonstrating how its F130 engine would give the best performance.
The Air Force Association’s 2021 Air, Space & Cyber Conference; Kendall on China; Raymond on the Space Force; New B-52 Engines; and more ...
Rolls-Royce North America has prevailed in the Air Force's three-year competition to re-engine the nearly-60-year-old B-52H fleet of 76 aircraft, winning a contract worth up to $2.6 billion if all options are exercised. The engines are to be fully installed by 2038 and are meant ...
The contract to re-engine the B-52 bomber should be awarded by the end of this month, senior service acquisition officials reported Sept. 21. The B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program seeks to replace the B-52’s original-equipment TF30 engines with new powerplants that should improve fuel burn ...
The Players Changed, But Digital Engineering and Modeling Is Here to Stay
The total program cost of re-engining the B-52H fleet of 76 airplanes will be about $11 billion, a 9 percent jump over a previous estimate because of more-up-to-date data. Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth told the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 17 ...
Congressional authorizers want to restrict Air Force funding until the service provides more information on its effort to replace the B-52’s engines. But the joint fiscal 2020 defense policy bill would withhold 25 percent of the Air Force’s total 2020 money until USAF Secretary Barbara ...
