【Military Subplane】Author: Lu Zhi
In the past, when the U.S. Air Force was mentioned, the first word that came to mind was powerful and advanced. And now, when everyone mentions the U.S. Air Force, maybe the first word that comes to mind is delay, who would have thought that such a powerful U.S. Air Force would be trapped in many problems that have led to the delay in the equipment upgrade plan of weapons, even if it is an old tooth but still the main force of the B52 simple engine upgrade plan has been delayed again.
▲ Image source: Internet
The official version of the US Air Force is that due to project delays and cost increases, the US Air Force will not be able to bring the replaced B52 bombers to initial combat capability until fiscal year 2033. The B52 engine replacement has been going on for several years, and it's fair to say that there's still no real next step. The engine used in the B52 bomber is a very old TF33, with a total of 8 units installed, perhaps many military fans still like this multi-engine design, but it is miserable for the US Air Force.
Eight engines have a high fuel consumption and a high level of complexity, and it stands to reason that four engines for an aircraft of this class of the B52 are sufficient. Because the TF33 engine is too old, overhaul is also an extremely difficult thing, and the cost is still very high. The new engine selected by the United States for it is a new engine codenamed F130, from Rolls-Royce, and it is not a one-for-two as many people imagined before, but a one-for-one, which means that the B52 after the replacement of the engine still uses 8 engines, so the actual operating costs may not be reduced too much, and the significance of life extension is greater.
▲ Image source: Internet
The United States said in June 2023 that in fiscal year 2030, the B52 with a replacement engine can reach its initial combat capability, but recently it has been delayed by three years due to cost overruns and other reasons, and it has become 2033. In fact, the B52 is not only a problem with the engine, but also with radar avionics and fuselage life. The United States also plans to replace the B52 with the AN/APG-79 radar, and the Super Hornet from the U.S. Navy will replace the AN/APQ-166 radar currently used by the B52H, and the detection range and the number of tracked targets have been substantially improved. So the B52 can continue to serve for decades after switching to engines and other electronic systems, and it is still one of the most powerful bombers on the planet.
▲ Image source: Internet
The American media, which has always praised the US Air Force and tried to say good things about it, could not stand the current situation in the United States, saying that it would take 12 years from the initial contract signing to use the F130 engine to the actual combat capability of the B52. But when the B52 was born decades ago, it took only about three years for its prototype to fly into service, which is enough to show that the current level of drag in the US Air Force can be compared with India.
Digging into the reasons, funding and the inherent problems of the US Air Force are the causes, or is it a saying in the past, one of the major reforms that the United States needs to do now is to reduce the size of the military as soon as possible, so as to use the limited funds for the research and development of new weapons. In this way, it can not only ensure sufficient scale, but also maintain sufficient technological advancement, otherwise once its biggest opponent achieves technological overtaking, then the scale and technology may no longer exist. It is probably only a matter of time before the US military becomes the second largest in the world.
▲ Image source: Internet