nited States Bomber Fleet Foreign Cold War-era bombers are getting new engines the mighty B-52 long-range bomber the mainstay of the United States long-range bomber fleet will be redesigned into one of Major Overhauls in Long Life Aircraft Rolls-Royce Corp Indiana has received 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 billion.
If all options are exercised, an award notice from the Department of Defense explained abroad that this contract provides 608 commercial engines plus replacement engines Associated support equipment and commercial engineering data to include sustainment activities that they will be used in the b52h bomber Fleet performance location as Indianapolis Indiana and the work is expected to be completed
on the 23rd September 2038, this award is the result of a competitive procurement in which a solicitation was posted and four bids were submitted received research and development funding for fiscal year 2021 in the amount of $464,452 are being committed at the time of The 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 sees production of the TF-33 in 1985. Although the company still offers support through spare parts, Although engine service costs have been rising steadily. Rolls-Royce’s new engines will fit inside the B-52’s current engine covers,
but will offer significant upgrades overall. The company offered a variant of its BR-700 engine, a tried-and-true turbofan popular with commercial and regional jets. Earlier reports hinted at other upgrades to t The venerable bomber aside from engines, other upgrades the Air Force could incorporate include improvements to the bomber 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 weapons systems that draw huge amounts of electricity such as lasers could be incorporated into the aircraft after 60 years of continuous service a replacement for the bomber’s Cold War-era engines are long overdue for refurbished engines The strato Fortress is expected to fly until the 2040s or 2050s at which point the plane would be almost a century old
