Gass said the modernization will set the table for additional upgrades in the future to help keep the bomber running into the 2050s. The B-52 will also receive new cockpit displays and digital engine controls, new struts and structures for the engine pods, and a new aircraft health maintenance system to help the Air Force sustain it for the next three decades. It will give the plane more range, endurance and flexibility in how the Air Force can use the B-52, and it will reduce fuel and maintenance costs.Īs the B-52′s engines receive upgrades, Gass said, so will its related subsystems, including power generation and pneumatics. The re-engining will do more than just keep the B-52 in the air, according to Gass. And the digital modeling will make it easier to produce clear and precise manuals for the maintainers in charge of keeping the engines running, she added. She noted the new engine will be able to receive maintenance work on the aircraft without the need for removal for major repairs. The engineering and manufacturing development phase is expected to last into 2026, she added. In the fourth quarter of this year, she said, Rolls-Royce will start testing its engine prototypes at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, to see how they will operate in the B-52 nacelle. “So we’re seeing those benefits already.” “That’s really what you want in this phase, is to figure it out sooner rather than later, before you go to full-rate production,” Bineyard said. This helped engineers spot “minor tweaks” that needed to be made to ensure engines would fit precisely inside the B-52 nacelles, she said, or find the best spot where newly added components should go. Thanks to the upgrade, the B-52 will be able to launch the AGM-183 Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon (ARRW) and the Long-Range Stand-Off (LRSO) hypersonic missiles.The process is still in the early stages, Gass noted, but there are anecdotal reports that this method allowed designers to catch problems, such as parts that were conflicting with one another, earlier in the process.Ĭandice Bineyard, director of defense programs at Rolls-Royce, said the two companies have been “trading” digital models with one another. The current B-52 cockpit (Varnav)Īccording to Boeing, the image shows “new 8 x 10 digital displays, hybrid mechanical-to-digital throttle system, new data concentrators units (2x), new engine fault maintenance recorder, new engine air data system (and) modified system panels, as well as structural, electrical, pneumatic and hydraulic updates associated with this modernization effort.” Another important change involves replacing the current throttle station with digital equipment. The projection suggests that there will be a reduction of analog displays in other parts of the panel. The image also reveals two other screens in place of old monitors in front of the pilots. Side view of YB-52 bomber, still fitted with a tandem cockpit, in common with other jet. The main difference is the replacement of several analog instruments from the eight engines with just two multifunctional displays. XB-52 prototype on flight line (X-4 in foreground B-36 behind). To adapt the cockpit to the new engines and systems, the manufacturer will also update the instrument panel of the veteran jet.Īnd, after publishing an illustration of the B-52 with the new engines, Boeing also previewed an image that shows what the new cockpit layout will look like. The famous bomber, developed in the 1950s, will feature new F130 engines, supplied by Rolls-Royce, as well as an AESA (Active Electronic Scanner Array) radar. Gradually, Boeing has revealed what the updated B-52 will look like.
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