B-52

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In addestramento sul Mare di Barents ...

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The latest Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission in Europe occurred Thursday over the Barents Sea as a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft conducted integration operations with NATO Allies.
The bomber, assigned to Minot Air Force Base’s 5th Bomb Wing in North Dakota, departed Thursday and flew to designated locations where the bomber integrated with Greek and Norwegian F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and conducted aerial refueling operations with U.S. and Turkish KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft. 
Upon completion of the missions, the aircraft and crew immediately returned to North Dakota. 
Missions like this demonstrate America’s continual global strike and global reach capabilities through the employment of strategic bombers.
The mission originally involved two bomber aircraft, but one aircraft safely diverted to RAF Fairford, England, Thursday afternoon due to a maintenance issue.

… eucom.mil … U.S.-Based B-52 Bomber Conducts Mission Over Barents Sea …

Anche qui … airforcemag.com … Maintenance Issues Force B-52 to Divert During Bomber Task Force Mission …

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Scopo della missione?
La deterrenza ...

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Two B-52s flew directly to the Persian Gulf from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., in what the military says is a message of deterrence to Iran.
The bombers, from the 2nd Bomb Wing, took off from their home base Dec. 9 and integrated with other U.S. Air Force and partner nation aircraft during the long-range mission, according to a U.S. Central Command release (*). 
The tasking came on a short notice, with the goal of proving the U.S. can send bombers anywhere, anytime.

… airforcemag.com … B-52s Fly Direct to the Persian Gulf from Barksdale …

(*) … centcom.mil … U.S. Bombers Operate In CENTCOM …

[Flaggy]

Mentre si pensa a ritirare qualche B-1B affaticato, il BUFF imperterrito va al contrario: torna in servizio un B-52H dopo che era stato parcheggiato 12 anni al cimitero degli elefanti.

https://theaviationist.com/2020/12/17/wise-guy-is-back-regenerated-after-10-years-at-the-boneyard-b-52h-flies-again-after-pdm-at-tinker-afb/

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"60-034" è un B-52H-150-BW prodotto da Boeing nello stabilimento di Wichita e fa parte di un lotto di 12 velivoli (da 60-0034 a 60-0045) ...

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Un avvertimento all'Iran ...

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The United States flew strategic bombers over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday for the second time this month, a show of force meant to deter Iran from attacking American or allied targets in the Middle East.
One senior U.S. military officer said the flight by two Air Force B-52 bombers was in response to signals that Iran may be planning attacks against U.S. allied targets in neighboring Iraq or elsewhere in the region in the coming days, even as President-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office. 
The officer was not authorized to publicly discuss internal assessments based on sensitive intelligence and spoke on condition of anonymity.

… military.com … https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/12/30/us-bomber-mission-over-persian-gulf-aimed-cautioning-iran.html …

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Ritorno in Medio Oriente ...

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A B-52 flew a long-range direct sortie from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., to the Middle East on Jan. 27, the third such flight this year and the first under the new Biden administration.
The bomber from the 2nd Bomb Wing flew the “presence patrol” over the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, linking up with Air Forces Central Command F-15Es, F-16s, KC-10s, and KC-135s ...
The bomber also flew alongside Royal Saudi Air Force F-15s.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/barksdale-b-52-flies-direct-to-the-middle-east/ ...

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Ritorno a Guam ...

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Four U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers returned to the Indo-Pacific region Jan. 28 for a Bomber Task Force deployment, conducting operations out of Andersen Air Force Base, Guam.
The bombers, from the 96th Bomb Squadron at Barksdale AFB, La., deployed in support of Pacific Air Forces’ training efforts with allies, partners and joint forces. 
These strategic deterrence missions reinforce the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.
“Deploying as a Bomber Task Force exercises our ability to produce agile, combat power in any location we are needed,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Duff, 96th Bomb Squadron commander. 
“Our strategic bomber missions demonstrate our always-ready global strike capability. We remain ready to deploy to reach anywhere in the world at any time.”

... pacaf.af.mil ... https://www.pacaf.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2487587/b-52-bombers-arrive-at-andersen-afb-for-bomber-task-force-deployment/ ...

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... It is still “too early to say” ...

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This summer, the U.S. Air Force expects to have all the data it needs from the three defense companies competing to replace the B-52 bomber’s engines, but it is still “too early to say” when a contract will be awarded, a top general said Feb. 25.
The service is waiting for the three competitors - General Electric, Rolls-Royce, and Pratt & Whitney - to provide more information about proposals each company submitted last year, according to Gen. Timothy Ray, who leads Air Force Global Strike Command.
“The request for proposals is out,” he told reporters during a roundtable hosted during the Air Force Association’s virtual Aerospace Warfare Symposium. 
“We should have this summer the answers back from the competitors to be considered. And so then, from that process, we’ll go from there.”

... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/smr/air-force-priorities/2021/02/25/to-early-to-say-when-b-52-engine-contract-will-be-awarded-air-force-general-says/ ...

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Onnipresenti ...

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/b-52s-simultaneously-operate-in-europe-middle-east-and-indo-pacific-theaters/ ...

 

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Onnipresenti (2^) ...

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B-52 aircraft deployed to Europe flew over all NATO nations in a single day, the second time in less than a year that U.S. bombers have flown this show of strength over the continent and North America.
The B-52s, which are deployed to Moron Air Base, Spain, flew over all 30 allied nations on May 31, integrating with more than 20 allied militaries across two combatant commands as part of Operation Allied Sky ...

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/b-52s-fly-over-all-nato-nations-second-time/ ...

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Sono anni che stanno discutendo dell'eventuale ri-motorizzazione dei B-52H ... nel frattempo i costi ...

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The total program cost of re-engining the B-52H fleet of 76 airplanes will be about $11 billion, a 9 percent jump over a previous estimate because of more up-to-date data, Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth told lawmakers June 17.
Roth told the Senate Armed Services Committee that recent press reports of a 50 percent increase are incorrect. 
This new number reflects information obtained from virtual prototyping of the system, along with “a re-assessment of the requirement” and the inherent complexity of integrating a modern, commercial engine onto the “aging platform that the B-52 is,” he said.
The cost increase also takes into account the “realities of buying from the current industrial base,” Roth said.
The Air Force was not immediately able to provide precise numbers, or whether the 9 percent is a base year or then-year cost.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/b-52-engining-cost-up-fresh-data-industrial-realities/ ...

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Le Stratofortezze ritornano nel Pacifico ...

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/minot-b-52s-head-to-guam-for-bomber-task-force-deployment/ ...

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Rimotorizzazione ... sarà la volta buona?

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A contract award for new engines for the venerable B-52 bomber is “imminent” and could occur as early as this month, the U.S. Air Force’s top acquisition officials said Tuesday.
The service is set to decide whether General Electric, Rolls-Royce or Pratt & Whitney will produce modified commercial engines to outfit the B-52, which is set to fly through at least 2050.
“We’re starting to wrap that work up. It shouldn’t be much longer,” said Lt. Gen. Duke Richardson, the Air Force’s top uniformed officer for acquisition.

... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/air/2021/09/21/us-air-force-to-declare-winner-of-b-52-engine-replacement-competition-as-soon-as-this-month/ ...

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Oltre alla rimotorizzazione ... vi sarà qualcosa d'altro ...

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Boeing will integrate the selected engine onto the B-52, converting the jet’s old analog engine controls to digital ones. 
While Boeing provided “information” to the Air Force about which engines were relatively easier or harder to integrate - and what other changes might be required - the company did not make a recommendation of any particular engine, a Boeing program official said. 
Boeing will decide how the engines should be placed on the wings and whether to mount them in twin-engine nacelles, as the TF33s are mounted now. 
The official said the disused infrared blisters on the aircraft’s nose will be removed to improve airflow to the new engines, restoring the aircraft’s original profile.  
In addition to the B-52’s engines, the Air Force is planning to replace the bomber’s radar, communications systems, and much of the cockpit.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/contract-for-new-b-52-engines-imminent/ ...

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Rimotorizzazione ... ha vinto Rolls-Royce ...

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The Air Force has selected Rolls-Royce North America as its contractor for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, or CERP, which will supply new F130 powerplants for all 76 of Air Force Global Strike Command’s B-52H bombers, the Pentagon announced Sep. 24. 
If all options are exercised, the work is worth $2.6 billion.
The F130 engine is flying on the C-37 transport and E-11 BACN (Battlefield Airborne Communications Node) aircraft. 
The first part of the indefinite quantity-indefinite delivery contract is worth $500.9 million. 
The contract calls for Rolls to supply 608 engines, to equip 76 B-52s with eight engines each, with manufacture and installation to be completed by Sept. 23, 2038. 
Rolls said the actual number of powerplants, including spares, is 650.
The Air Force did not say when the installs will begin. 
The engines will be built at Rolls’s Indianapolis, Ind., facilities, where the company said it has invested $600 million in an “advanced manufacturing campus.” 
The work will require 150 new hires, the company said. 
The contract value is substantially below initial estimates, which ran as much as $10 billion for the CERP.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/rolls-royce-wins-b-52-re-engining-program-worth-2-6-billion/ ...

Anche qui ... rolls-royce.com ... https://www.rolls-royce.com/media/press-releases/2021/24-09-2021-rr-north-america-selected-to-power-the-b-52-commercial-engine-replacement-program.aspx ...

Dalla pagina "Contracts" del DoD (AIR FORCE) ...

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Rolls-Royce Corp., Indianapolis, 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. 
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 is Indianapolis, Indiana, and work is expected to be completed by Sept. 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. 
Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting activity (FA8107-21-D-0001).

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Anche AINonline tratta l'argomento ...

... ainonline.com ... https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2021-09-25/rolls-royce-selected-b-52-re-engining-program ...

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I nuovi motori per il B-52H ... parla Rolls-Royce ...

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To win the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, Rolls-Royce digitally “built” the bomber’s wing with the company’s F130 engines installed to demonstrate its advantages, Rolls-Royce North America President and CEO Tom Bell said in an online seminar.
“We digitally integrated that engine into the pod, into the pylon, into the wing, and dynamically modeled the entire system of operation to model for the customer exactly how efficient that product would be on that wing,” which was “designed … in the 1950s, early 60s,” Bell said in a streaming discussion with Defense One. 
He also revealed that Rolls’ proposal calls for modifying the wing “as little as possible” in order to reduce risk.
With the digital model, “We were able to demonstrate for the Air Force … how our engine, and this approach, would lower their integration risk, so as to integrate this engine efficiently, affordably, and on schedule,” Bell said. 
The digital model also demonstrated how maintenance could be accomplished more easily, he said.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/rolls-royce-digitally-modeled-entire-wing-pylon-to-win-b-52-engine-contract/ ...

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Tempo scaduto ... non sarà più possibile presentare ricorso nei confronti di Rolls-Royce ...

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The deadline for lodging protests against the selection of Rolls-Royce North America to provide new engines for the Air Force’s fleet of B-52s has passed, and none have been lodged on the Government Accountability Office’s docket.
“The deadline passed at [close of business] Monday, Oct. 25,” an Air Force source said. 
The companies had 10 days after receiving a debrief on why they were not selected to make it known if they planned to protest, and that has not happened.
Rolls-Royce won the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, or CERP. 
The contract, announced Sept. 24, is worth $2.6 billion if all options are exercised. 
The company will build 650 of its F130 powerplants, now flying on the C-37 transport and E-11 Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft, for installation on all 76 B-52Hs, each of which will receive eight engines.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/no-protests-in-b-52-re-engining-award-to-rolls-royce/ ...

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Dopo i motori, tocca ora al sistema di generazione dell'energia elettrica ...

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Collins Aerospace, part of Raytheon Technologies, will upgrade the B-52 bomber’s power generation system, the company said . 
The improvements will help boost the B-52’s range while reducing its carbon footprint, Collins reported.
Boeing is the Air Force’s integrator for B-52 modernization, including the re-engining of the bomber with new powerplants being supplied by Rolls-Royce North America. 
Boeing selected Collins for the work on the electrical power generation system (EPGS), according to a Collins release (*). 
The EPGS will be based on “industry-leading commercial technology” and will “contribute to the Air Force’s goal of 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency for the B-52, along with a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions,” the release said.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/collins-aerospace-will-update-b-52-power-generation/ ...

... collinsaerospace.com ... https://www.collinsaerospace.com/newsroom/News/2022/01/Boeing-selects-Collins-electric-power-generation-system-B-52 ...

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"On the road" ...
Qualsiasi riferimento a Jack Kerouac è puramente casuale ... 

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A retired U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress nicknamed 'Damage Inc. II' was recently taken out of storage at the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group's 'boneyard' at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and disassembled before beginning its journey eastward across the country to be partially reassembled for research and development purposes. 
Now the stripped-down 'BUFF' is on the road and drawing huge amounts of attention.

 ... thedrive.com/the-war-zone ... https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/43784/heavy-traffic-a-b-52-bomber-is-being-trucked-across-the-central-united-states ...

 

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I nuovi motori per il B-52H ... il lavoro è finalmente avviato ...

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Forty years since the Air Force first started thinking about replacing the eight engines on the B-52, the job is finally underway. 
The re-engining is the centerpiece of an upgrade that will keep the Stratofortress operationally relevant for another 20 to 30 years. 
The contract for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) was awarded last fall and the program is moving forward quickly. 
Two new F130 engines have been built and if development and testing proceeds as planned, the first re-engined B-52s will be operational in about five years.
“All the things are in place that are really defining what the B-52 looks like … into the 2030s,” said Brig. Gen. John P. Newberry, program executive officer for Air Force bombers. 
He said upgrades include “new engines, a new radar, Advanced Extremely High Frequency and Very Low Frequency communications improvements, data link updates and cryptologic improvements, as well as several smaller efforts.”

 ... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/article/new-power-for-the-b-52/ ...

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Brutte notizie per il programma di ri-motorizzazione dei B-52H ...
I costi per la sua realizzazione sono saliti in maniera vertiginosa e, come al solito, è già partito il consueto gioco allo "scaricabarile" fra le parti in causa ...

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The cost of the B-52 re-engining program has increased 50 percent because of integration issues, according to revelations in a House Armed Services panel hearing.
Air Force acquisition executive Andrew P. Hunter acknowledged the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) price hike as voiced in a question from Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) in testimony on service modernization.
“We currently believe there is cost growth from our design work that we did originally through the middle-tier acquisition program to what we anticipate we’ll be looking at [in] Milestone B,” which evaluates readiness for entry into the engineering and manufacturing development phase, Hunter said.
The B-52 CERP has been conducted as a middle-tier acquisition program to get underway rapidly and develop a prototype system but is now moving to a “traditional” program, and the Air Force is firming up the costs it expects to pay, Hunter said. 
The cost increases have more to do with integrating the engines on the B-52, which is a Boeing effort, and has less to do with the engines themselves, which will be built by Rolls-Royce, he added.
“I want to emphasize that a lot of that engineering work is actually inside the airplane, on the support struts, to which the engines attach, versus the engine itself, which is largely a commercial engine that already exists,” Hunter said. 
The engine needs only “a modest number of modifications,” he said.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/cost-of-b-52-re-engining-jumps-by-half-in-new-estimates-of-refit/ ...

  

[Flaggy]

Il malcostume di vendere la pelle dell'orso prima di averlo ucciso è diffusa in parecchi settori.

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Insieme ai prossimi aggiornamenti di motori e radar il B-52 riceverà anche una nuova designazione ... "J" o forse "K" ...

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The B-52H will be redesignated the B-52J or possibly B-52K when it gets a new radar and new engines, but the Air Force hasn’t yet decided what will constitute the new B-52 variant, according to Col. Louis Ruscetta, senior materiel leader for the program.
The program has also developed a new estimate of what the re-engining will cost and is about to submit it to Congress, as directed under last year’s defense bill, but Ruscetta said reports of a 50 percent overrun are far overstated. 
In fact, he said he sees no overruns on the horizon.
The radar and engine program represent “the largest modification in the history” of the B-52, Ruscetta told reporters at Air Force Materiel Command’s Life Cycle Industry Days conference in Dayton, Ohio. 
The change from B-52G to B-52H in 1961 was mainly the switch to the TF33 engine, but the new package includes radar, engines, communications, pylons, cockpit displays, and the deletion of one crew member station, meaning “it makes sense” to have a new designation, Ruscetta said.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/b-52-will-get-at-least-one-new-designation-with-radar-engine-upgrades/ ...

Una nota a margine ... mercoledì scorso è stato riproposto su Rete 4, nella fascia pomeridiana, il film "La veglia delle aquile" (in originale "A Gathering of Eagles").
A parte l'evidente aspetto propagandistico della pellicola, il suo lato interessante è che viene mostrata quella che era la vita in un reparto da bombardamento strategico del SAC, dotato di B-52G armati di missili "Hound Dog", nell'anno 1963, immediatamente dopo la crisi dei missili di Cuba.
Impressionante questa sequenza ...

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Ulteriore nota a margine ...

Se a qualcuno può interessare ... il film "La veglia delle aquile" verrà di nuovo trasmesso Martedì 16 Agosto intorno alle ore 16:50 ... questa volta, però, sul canale "Iris".