US planning to spend some $15Bln on B-52 bombers upgrade
The United States Air Force is planning to upgrade its 1960s B-53 Stratofortress bombers at a cost of at least $15 billion, the Defense One news portal reported on Tuesday, citing service officials.
MEHR: The United States Air Force is planning to upgrade its 1960s B-53 Stratofortress bombers at a cost of at least $15 billion, the Defense One news portal reported on Tuesday, citing service officials.
The air force is seeking to equip the bombers with new engines and radars to keep them operational for another three decades, as the B-1 and B-2 bombers are set to be retired in the early 2030s, the media outlet reported, adding that the current plan to replace the engines with ones made by Rolls-Royce and radars made by Raytheon faces obstacles due to the high price tag.
The previously estimated upgrade price jumped by $2.5 billion to $15 billion, the news portal quoted Brian Knight, deputy senior material leader for the B-52 program, as saying. He added that the air force was still refining its estimates and expects new proposals from Boeing.
To replace the engines, the bombers themselves would have to be reworked, Knight said. Meanwhile, radar replacement costs reportedly increased by $1 billion to $3.3 billion.
