NZFF

I see the new B-21 Raider took it's first flight last Friday, I think.
I read in either Combat Aircraft Journal or Air Forces Monthly, that the USAF Bomber Component will consist of two types, the B-52 and the B-21.
I know that a few B-1s have been retired and the B-2 won't have a role to fill.
The interesting thing is the BUFF is being modernized, new cockpit, engines, self protection measures etc.
The USAF have said that with the modernization program, the B-52 will still be in service until the 2040s maybe into the 2050s.
Not bad for a 1950s design...sometimes low tech is better than hi-tech...

Great heads up.
Regarding the B-52, We are possibly looking at a 100-year-old airframe. If so, then there is a lot to be said for 50's engineering.

That's true. Back in the 1990s early 2000s a B-52 pilot said that when the last Bone is flown to the graveyard , the crew will fly home in a BUFF..it's timeless.
The B-52 took it's first flight on 15/04/1952.

It's moot whether arriving at an unexpectedly long lifespan is such a clever thing.
You end up having to use the thing because there's money locked up in it, rather than performance.
Then you have to (expensively) Band Aid it, and on top of that, make a new first strike bomber.
Still, it's a hell of an airplane.

Also: It's a drone.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The B-21 Raider took its first test flight on Friday, moving the futuristic warplane closer to becoming the nation’s next nuclear weapons stealth bomber.
The Raider flew in Palmdale, California, where it has been under testing and development by Northrop Grumman.
The Air Force is planning to build 100 of the warplanes, which have a flying wing shape much like their predecessor the B-2 Spirit but will incorporate advanced materials, propulsion and stealth technology to make them more survivable in a future conflict.
The plane is planned to be produced in variants with and without pilots.

Charl wrote:The plane is planned to be produced in variants with and without pilots.

Aha! RL imitating FS

Charl, I agree with you 100% about the B-52 being a hell of an aircraft. I reckon if you want to send the Bad Guys a message....send a BUFF.
It is , in my opinion , the ultimate warrior.

Given their global debt, the Americans can't even afford new laces for their sneakers, let alone 100 of the bowls
https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/america ... l-deficit/


US Trade Deficit is at a current level of 65.50B, down from 68.28B last month and down from 80.85B one year ago. This is a change of -4.08% from last month and -18.99% from one year ago. Wow, the US is less broke than last year? I am relieved. Apart from a few postage stamp states in the Pacific, is there anyone in the world to whom the USA is not in debt?

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-sta ... e-of-trade