Guest Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 1> Here are some of the upgrades coming to the US Air Force’s oldest bomber Today, September 15, 2019, 1 hour ago | Valerie Insinna New radar, new weapons, new data links. Same old plane. Decades late, the B-52 is getting a new nuclear weapon Today, September 15, 2019, 3 hours ago | Aaron Mehta, Jeff Martin To keep the B-52 bomber relevant for its nuclear mission, the U.S. Air Force is preparing to spend billions of dollars to develop a new air-launched cruise missile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2019 Share Posted September 16, 2019 US Air Force nears battle over next B-52 engine By: Valerie Insinna 50 minutes ago AddThis Sharing Buttons Share to Facebook Facebook Share to Twitter Twitter Share to Email Email Share to More AddThis <img src="https://www.armytimes.com/resizer/WOYf7I8fzDx6IpwyuwWnP1vErBY=/1200x0/filters:quality(100)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com/public/VKMRMJ5DUBCGVI2SADPA62URZM.jpg" alt=""/> Senior Airman Josh Serafin monitors the ignition of B-52H Stratofortress engines at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. Each B-52 uses eight TF33 engines to fly. (Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong/U.S. Air Force) BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La., and WASHINGTON — After several months of delays, the U.S. Air Force is hoping to release a request for proposals for new B-52 bomber engines by the end of 2019, once the service gets the chance to solidify its solicitation and answer congressional concerns. But at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, B-52 maintainers are hungry for new motors that will hopefully lessen the time it takes to diagnose and fix engine problems. “If I was to prioritize the systems from a maintainer’s point of view, in my personal opinion — not the Air Force’s obviously — but [replacing] the engines first and foremost” would have the most positive impact on the maintenance community, said Lt. Col. Tiffany Arnold, 2nd Maintenance Squadron commander. Arnold spoke with journalist and Defense News contributor Jeff Bolton during a visit to Barksdale AFB. Each B-52 uses eight TF33 engines to fly, which means maintainers spend a lot of time ensuring each engine functions properly. And when more than one engine needs repairs, that entails more work for the personnel that are already performing multiple assessments, Arnold said. Click here for more from the special report on the U.S. nuclear enterprise. The Air Force believes it can reduce fuel burn and cut down the number of hours needed to maintain the B-52 by swapping the TF33s with eight new, off-the-shelf engines. It’s a discussion that’s been going on for more than 30 years, said Alan Williams, deputy B-52 program element monitor with Air Force Global Strike Command. “The B-52 was going to be retired in 1996, and then the date slid to 2000, then it slid to 2003, then it went finally to 2040 and now it’s 2050,” he said in an August interview. “The extended life has finally given us the green light for upgrades we’ve been looking at for 20 or 30 years but could never get funded.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 US Air Force launches contest to replace the B-52 bomber’s engine By: Valerie Insinna 2 hours ago 85 A B-52 Stratofortress crew chief assigned to the 20th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Squadron marshals his aircraft on the flight line Aug. 22, 2015, at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. (Staff Sgt. Alexander W. Riedel/U.S. Air Force) WASHINGTON — General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and Pratt & Whitney will compete for the chance to outfit the U.S. Air Force’s B-52 bomber fleet with new engines, with a contract award projected for June 2021. The Air Force released a request for proposals for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program to the three companies on May 19. The engine makers are already under contract to create digital prototypes, and they have until July 22 to submit final proposals, the solicitation stated. The U.S. Air Force plans to solicit bids for a new B-52 engine from industry later this year, and maintainers are hungry for a replacement. By: Valerie Insinna The Air Force operates 76 B-52s, each outfitted with eight TF33 engines. The service plans to order 608 new engines, plus spares and support, from the winner of the competition. The public version of the RFP obscures the estimated value of the program, which is projected to extend from 2021 to 2035. Pratt & Whitney, which manufactured the TF33 currently onboard the B-52, has stated it will propose the PW800. “Its industry-leading reliability, robust sustainment infrastructure, and significant fuel efficiency savings will greatly improve the legendary bomber and keep it flying for decades to come,” said Chris Johnson, Pratt & Whitney’s executive director for mobility and diverse engine programs. "Our unique experience with the B-52, coupled with our expertise integrating commercial engines onto military applications, will deliver a low-risk, high-performance engine to power the Stratofortress fleet through 2050.” GE Aviation will put forward the CF34-10 and Passport engines, spokesman David Wilson said. “GE is the only company to have been involved in re-engining U.S. Air Force aircraft three times over,” he said. “Add in our deep experience powering six strategic bombers, entrenched support of air combat and the reverence we have for the role we play in protecting this country, and GE is the clear partner to ensure the B-52 is ready at all times for mission critical.” Rolls-Royce intends to offer its F130 engine, the company confirmed. “Rolls-Royce is excited to move to the proposal stage of the campaign and ready to demonstrate that the Rolls-Royce F130 engine is the perfect fit for the B-52,” Craig McVay, senior vice president for Rolls-Royce Defense, said in a statement. “The F130 is a highly reliable and proven engine which is already in commercial production. Our team is focused and energized, and eager to compete for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program and provide the best possible solution for the U.S. Air Force and the key missions of the B-52 weapon system.” Decades late, the B-52 is getting a new nuclear weapon To keep the B-52 bomber relevant for its nuclear mission, the U.S. Air Force is preparing to spend billions of dollars to develop a new air-launched cruise missile. By: Aaron Mehta, Jeff Martin The Air Force plans to operate the B-52 into the 2050s and sees new commercial engines as a way to reduce fuel burn and the time it takes to maintain the bomber. Last year, B-52 maintainers at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, told Defense News that modern engines would make it easier for crews to diagnose problems and make needed repairs. “I would like to know if I need to take that aircraft down out of the schedule and give it a new engine ahead of time,” said Lt. Col. Tiffany Arnold, 2nd Maintenance Squadron commander. “We could prioritize, we could understand the patterns of the engines in a way that we could maintain them better. And hopefully the new motor, whoever designs it, will have a shorter mean time between failure, and we can fly them longer.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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