The U.S. Air Force and its partners in the B-52J Commercial Engine Replacement Program completed the project’s Critical Design Review, setting up the next stage of the project. The B-52J will be a re-engined version of the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress long-range bomber - itself an updated version of the 1940s-vintage B-29.
The USAF expects the modified B-52 fleet will be in service for more than 20 years, into the 2050s.
The CDR was a comprehensive technical assessment through which the USAF and its partners Boeing Defense and Rolls-Royce North America gain insight and evaluation of the complete system design from independent experts, to ensure it will meet all technical and performance targets, before major modifications begin on the aircraft.
The USAF’s fleet of 76 B-52s is powered by eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans, which are difficult and expensive to maintain and repair. These will be replaced by Rolls-Royce F130 turbofan engines, arranged as four twin-pod units. According to the Air Force, the F130s will be more fuel efficient, and offer longer range lower sustainment costs. Each engine will have a modern generator subsystem, which will make available more electrical power for weapons and sensors.
Late last year the Air Force issued a $2-billion award to Boeing for its ongoing work on the CERP. The contractor is procuring and manufacturing parts, and will modify two B-52H aircraft into the B-52J configuration.
The first of those bombers is scheduled to begin modification later this year by Boeing at its San Antonio, Tex., operation.
More than 600 F130 engines will be built by Rolls-Royce North America in Indianapolis. Each aircraft will have its eight engines replaced by four, twin-pod F130 engines.
The second B-52H is schedule for modification in 2028, with ground and flight testing to begin in 2029. FY 2033 is the USAF’s target date for “initial operational capability” for the B-52J fleet.
“This CERP critical design review is the culmination of an enormous amount of engineering and integration work from Boeing, Rolls Royce, and the Air Force that will enable the B-52J to remain in the fight for future generations,” stated Lt. Col. Tim Cleaver, Bombers Directorate CERP program manager.
“It’s that point that you go from having a concept turned into a design, to then turning that design into something physical - something that we will test and field for Air Force Global Strike Command,” Cleaver added.
