The U.S. Air Force’s goal has been to finish re-engining the last of its fleet of 76 B-52 bombers by 2035, but this schedule might now slip to the following year. This would extend the total time between the original Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) contract award and the completion of the upgrade work to around 15 years. Delays and cost growth have already beset the CERP effort. At the same time, we are getting new information as to what will be included in one of the re-engining kits.
In 2021, the Air Force announced it had selected the F130 as the winner of a competition to re-engine its remaining operational B-52Hs, something that had been a topic of on again-off again discussions for decades at that point. The B-52’s original manufacturer, Boeing, is the prime contractor for the actual integration work, which requires a host of additional modifications to the aircraft. The resulting bombers, which will also get an array of other upgrades and are currently expected to serve into the 2050s, will be redesignated as B-52Js. The B-52Hs were the last of these bombers produced and the final example rolled off the Boeing production line in 1962. The aircraft have received various improvements and updates already since then.
“The B-52J CERP production phase” includes “procurement and/or production of aircraft components to support installation of new engines and associated sub-systems onto the B-52 aircraft. (engines will be provided separately by the Government),” according to a recent Air Force contracting notice. “Building, storing, and delivering aircraft modification kits to Tinker AFB [Air Force Base] or other designated locations, if required, on an as needed basis through the production phase for up to 76 B-52H aircraft including additional spare parts, production tooling and support equipment to support installations in a five-to-eight-year period, starting FY28 [Fiscal Year 2028].”
An eight-year period starting in Fiscal Year 2028 would wrap up in Fiscal Year 2036. The 2036 fiscal cycle will start on Oct. 1, 2035 and end on Sept. 30, 2036. As of 2023, the Air Force said it was looking to complete the CERP effort by 2035.
The contracting notice does say that the Air Force’s goal remains to have its first two B-52s with the new engines by 2028, which will be used for ground and flight testing purposes. “Prior to the B-52J production phase, the Boeing Company will develop aircraft modification installation drawings [and] select aircraft modification component suppliers,” it adds.
Details about the anticipated contents of the B-52J CERP “modification kits” are also included in the notice and are as follows:
- Engine Struts (OEM Spirit Aero)
- Integrated Drive Generators (OEM Collins)
- Hydraulic pumps (OEM Parker)
- Engine nacelles and fairings (OEM Spirit Aero)
- Generator Control Units (OEM Collins)
- Hydraulic reservoirs
- Engine throttle controls
- Power distribution boxes (OEM Boeing)
- Power wiring
- Engine start switches
- Air starter auxiliary unit (OEM Honeywell)
- Control wiring
- Engine instrument display (OEM L3 Collins)
- Air starter auxiliary unit controller
- Attachment hardware
- Engine data concentrator units (OEM Boeing)
- Hydraulics panel in cockpit
- Pneumatic pre-coolers
- Electrical panel in cockpit
- Pneumatic components and ducting
- Anti-ice systems (OEM Liebherr)
- Air Data System Probes (OEM Collins Rosemont)
- True Air Temp Sensors (OEM Collins Rosemont)
The CERP program centers on a one-for-one replacement of the eight TF33 engines that currently power the B-52, a decision made to try to reduce the cost and complexity of the upgrade effort. However, the list above underscores that the work entails much more than just installing the new F130s under the wings of the bombers.
The re-engining effort is set to give the bombers substantially better fuel economy and reduce maintenance demands, which, in turn, are expected to cut sustainment costs and provide operational benefits, including extended range, as you can learn more about here. The TF33 is a 1950s-era design that has been out of production since 1985 and is now very costly to operate and maintain.
Though a possible slip in the completion timeline for the CERP program from 2035 to 2036 isn’t great, it does speak to the larger issues the effort has already faced to date. Those difficulties could, in turn, eat into the benefits that re-engining the B-52s is supposed to provide. Last year, it emerged that the Air Force might not even start flying operational missions with B-52Js until 2033, three years later than expected and 12 years after the initial CERP contract was signed. It is also possible that steps the Air Force and Boeing are taking now, including starting the search for possible vendors to help put the modification kits together, could help mitigate existing delays. On the other hand, the program is still quite young and additional delays could spring up as a result of production and flight testing. Boeing as a whole has seen serious turmoil across its defense and commercial sectors in recent years, including with regard to new Air Force One jets for the Air Force and other high-profile U.S. military programs, leading to billions of dollars in financial losses.
How much the CERP program is expected to cost in total at this point is unclear, but there are indications that it may have already grown from around $8 billion to roughly $9 billion. Boeing was supposed to provide the Air Force with an updated cost estimate by the end of last year, but it is unclear whether or not that occured.
CERP is also just one of a number of modernization efforts the Air Force is pursuing to help ensure its B-52s remain operationally relevant for decades to come. This includes a major Radar Modernization Program (RMP), which has also struggled with delays and cost growth in recent years.
Replacing the B-52’s existing mechanically-scanned AN/APQ-166 radar with a new active electronically-scanned array (AESA) type derived from Raytheon’s popular AN/APG-79 is seen as a particularly critical upgrade. The new radars will offer greater range and fidelity, along with improved situational awareness and resistance to countermeasures. All of this could help with target acquisition and identification, including of potentially hostile aircraft, as well as help expand the aircraft’s ability to employ networked munitions at long distances. The radars will also have secondary ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and synthetic aperture radar surveillance capabilities, and could have additional functionality, including electronic warfare and communications support.
The Air Force otherwise sees the B-52 as a key element of its nuclear and conventional long-range strike capabilities through at least 2050, including in a potential high-end fight against China in the Pacific. In addition to the on-aircraft upgrades, the bombers are set to receive new weapons to support those missions, including the nuclear-tipped AGM-181A Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) cruise missile and future conventionally-armed hypersonic weapons.
Regardless, the re-engining program remains arguably the most important upgrade effort for the B-52 in decades, but it may ultimately take at least 15 years total to complete the work.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com