Monday, March 6, 2023

B-52 To Get A New Engine

A B-52H strategic bomber equipped with the AGM-86 variant Air-Launched Cruise Missile. Image: US Air Force.

Warzone/The Drive: Rolls-Royce Offers Peek At The B-52’s New Engines Undergoing Testing  

The B-52 re-engining saga goes back many decades, but it’s finally happening in the form of Rolls-Royce’s TF130 turbofan. 

  Now that testing has begun, Rolls-Royce has provided first looks at the F130 turbofan engines in their dual-pod configuration that will replace the outdated TF33 engines currently equipping the U.S. Air Force’s B-52H Stratofortress fleet. Rolls-Royce has offered this imagery as part of an update on the years-long effort to re-engine and modernize the service’s bombers. 

In fact, the fight to get the B-52 new engines is a saga that dates back decades. A Rolls-Royce press release explains that testing of the F130 engines under the Air Force’s B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) is being carried out at the company’s outdoor test facility at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The current round of testing will focus primarily on both crosswind aerodynamic flow and confirming that the engine’s digital controls system can operate as intended.  

Read more .... 

 B-52 To Get A New Engine  

Rolls-Royce Testing New Engine for US Air Force B-52 Bomber Fleet -- Defense Post  

‘Milestone Testing’: US Air Force Is Propelling Its B-52 Bombers Towards 100 Years Of Service; Rolls-Royce Offers A ‘Sneak Peak’ -- EurAsian Times  

Rolls-Royce kicks off testing of replacement B-52 engine -- Flight Global  

Rolls-Royce B-52 engine testing gets under way for USAF -- Business Live  

F130 engines: Rolls-Royce begins testing new engines to revamp old B-52 fleet -- Interesting Engineering

6 comments:

Alex said...

These B52s will outlive us all.

RussInSoCal said...

Cool. The new engines are the same ones that power the Gulfstream biz jets. They fit nicely into the 60 year old nacelles.

Anonymous said...

There is something to say, that instead of building new bombers like the b1 or the insanely priced B2. Just build brand new B52s.

Anonymous said...

So the US military is buying jet aircraft engines from a British company when there are many US companies (Boeing, Northrop Grumman, etc.) who could build the right engine to specs needed by the military. But screw the American worker! That's been the attitude in Washington for the past 40 years, and it looks like it is not going to change during the Biden Administration. Another reason why we Americans need to elect President Trump in 2024. Are there any doubts Trump would ensure an American company and American workers are going to build American aircraft?

Anonymous said...

We buy British engines and Europeans buy F35s. So long as trade balance is maintained and is not lopsided, why is the Russian doll (9:57) so concerned again?

Anonymous said...

not a russian doll at all, 10:16 a.m. I am a US Vietnam era veteran and supporter of President Trump