Comment: Talk about a 10 year service life. Read the last paragraph quoted below -- B-52 upgrade and service life extension into the 2050's. Talk about flying the airplane your great grandpa flew!
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Also known as: Boeing B-52, Stratofortress
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last Updated: May 28, 2024 • Article History
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In regards to three launches per year discussed below. The Glory Trip my crew helped launch was a brand new MMIII that had served underground in its silo for one year. Guess what? It worked great! This test launch further proved the viability of the new design.
https://www.airandspaceforces.com/lawmakers-fund-sentinel-air-force-books/
June 17, 2024 | By John A. Tirpak
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Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee are eyeing major changes to the U.S. nuclear deterrence enterprise in their version of the 2025 defense policy bill, calling for exploration of a special fund—potentially separate from the Air Force’s budget—to pay for the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile program.
Lawmakers also want to establish a new Pentagon overseer for all deterrence matters and information on increasing the size of the deployed Sentinel inventory.
The committee completed its markup of the 2025 National Defense Authorization bill with more than a dozen significant and specific steps to bolster the strategic deterrent, affecting all aspects of the nuclear triad. The bill’s text has yet to be released, but a summary was made available.
One provision would require a briefing on “the establishment of a National Land-Based Deterrence Fund, including the cost elements of the Sentinel ICBM weapon system.” The Navy already has a National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund separate from its other shipbuilding accounts, meant to finance nuclear modernization from “across DOD’s budget rather than solely from the Navy’s budget,” according to the Congressional Research Service.
Such a fund might move some of the Sentinel program outside the Air Force budget. Taking even some of that burden off the Air Force’s plate could help the service significantly, as it struggles to recapitalize its aging and shrinking aircraft fleet. Cost overruns alone on the Sentinel—mainly due to the massive scope of the civil engineering required to rehabilitate the nation’s ICBM silos—are expected to add up to nearly $50 billion; the equivalent of more than 600 F-35s.
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The committee also seem interested in increasing the size of the Sentinel fleet. It mandates “no fewer” than 400 “responsive, on-alert, U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles to be deployed, except for activities related to maintenance, sustainment, and replacement, or activities to ensure safety, security, or reliability.” A deployed force of 400 ICBMs is the Sentinel plan, but the proposed bill would also require “a plan for acquiring and deploying up to 450 Sentinel ICBMs,” an increase of 50 missiles standing alert.
The Sentinel program calls for 400 of the missiles to be based in silos, but production of 659 is planned, to accommodate thrice-annual surety/demonstration tests through 2075.
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Without explanation, the SASC also voted to direct “the restoration of nuclear capabilities across the entire B-52 strategic bomber fleet.” The B-52 fleet is getting a massive upgrade to extend its service into the 2050s. The 76 aircraft are getting new engines, radars, navigation aids and weapons, including the new nuclear-armed Long Range Stand-Off missile. Collectively, the upgrades warrant the redesignation of the bomber from B-52H to B-52J.
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Long Range Stand Off Weapon (LRSO)
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Mission and Description
The Long Range Standoff (LRSO) Cruise Missile is a long range survivable standoff weapon capable of delivering lethal nuclear effects on strategic targets. LRSO will replace the currently fielded Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) and will be integrated on both legacy and future bomber aircraft. The LRSO weapon system will be capable of penetrating and surviving advanced Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS) from significant standoff ranges to prosecute strategic targets in support of the Air Force's global attack capability and strategic deterrence core function.
