Along the backbone of the united states
bomber fleet, the cold war era bombers
are getting new engines. The mighty B-52 bomber, long the mainstay
of the united states long-range bomber
fleet will be re-engined in one of the
most significant overhauls in the
plane's long life.
"Rolls-Royce Corp,. Indiana has been
awarded an estimated $500,870,458 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with a
six-year base period for B-52
replacement engines, with a potential
total of $2,604,329,361 if all
options are exercised," an award notice
from the department of defense explained.
This contract provides for 608
commercial engines plus spare engines
associated support equipment and
commercial engineering data to include
sustainment activities to be used on the B-52H bomber fleet. The location of performance as
indianapolis indiana and work is
expected to be completed by september 23, 2038.
This award is the result of a
competitive acquisition in which one
solicitation was posted and four offers
were received. Fiscal 2021 research and development
funds in the amount of $5,464,452 are being obligated at
the time of award.
The B-52's current engines, the TF-33
manufactured by pratt and whitney have
been mated to the B-52 since 1961. The TF-33 is a relatively simple
turbofan engine design built in the late
1950s. although eight of the engines arranged
in four pods have powered the B-52 since
the early 1960s, Pratt and Whitney seized TF-33 production in 1985. Though the company still offers support
via spare parts, though engine servicing
costs have steadily increased.
Rolls-Royce's new engines will fit
inside the B-52's current engine shrouds, but offer significant increases across
the board. Expected benefits include vastly
improved fuel efficiency, airplane range
and noise reduction. Rather than building a from scratch
design, the company offered a variant of
its br700 engine a tried and true turbo
fan popular with business and regional
jet aircraft.
Previous reporting hinted
at other upgrades to the venerable
bomber besides just engines. Other enhancements that the air force
could incorporate include upgrades to
the bomber's cockpit avionics ejection
system and defensive capabilities. It is possible that due to the
additional electrical power the b-52's
new engines are expected to generate
defensive weapon systems that draw
tremendous amounts of electricity like
lasers could be incorporated into the
plane.
After sixty years of continuous service
a replacement for the bombers cold war
era engines are long overdue. With revamped engines the strato
fortress is expected to fly as late as
the 2040s or 2050s at which point the
plane would be almost a century old.
