F-22 Raptors line up with F-15 fighters on the Anderson Flightline. Photo from Flickr.David Axe, National Interest: The U.S. Air Force in 2030: 80-Year-Old B-52s and New B-21 Stealth Bombers?
The U.S. Air Force’s bomber fantasy: How to grow the force without spending $45 billion.
If the U.S. Air Force follows through on its ambitious plan to add 75 new squadrons, it either will have to buy a lot more new bombers, or hold on longer to older bombers.
The service apparently is reluctant to confront this hard choice.
Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson in February 2019 re-affirmed the service's 2018 plan for its bomber fleet.
Under the plan, the Air Force in the 2030s would retire its 62 1980s-vintage B-1B bombers and, a few years later, would also retire all 20 '90s-vintage B-2 stealth bombers.
Meanwhile, the service would upgrade its 76 B-52s that first flew in the early 1960s and buy at least 100 new B-21 stealth bombers. The result in the 2040s would be a force of 175 bombers composed of factory-fresh B-21s and 80-year-old B-52s.
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WNU Editor: 80-year-old B-52s flying around. Unbelievable.
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