B-52

[TT-1 Pinto]

Missione di addestramento ....

 

 

The 96th Bomb Squadron Takes Flight During a Training Mission at Barksdale AFB, LA on April 18, 2012 with scenes including aerial refueling, low level flying, and aircraft ops.

 

U.S. Air Force video by TSgt. Rebecca Zannetti

[Andrea75]

B-52 cockpit video

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOLLk1cppNg&feature=player_embedded

[Andrea75]

a night sortie on board the B-52 Stratofortress. As seen through the Night Vision Goggles

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb5AbeWVy34&feature=player_embedded

[Andrea75]

B-52 bombers deployed to Europe (for an exercise)

 

Last night, two U.S. B-52 Stratofortress aircraft from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, crossing the Atlantic Ocean on their way to the Czech Republic, where they will take part to the NATO Exercise Ramstein Rover, used a very special, never heard before, callsign: the two strategic bombers flew to Ostrava, where they landed on Sept. 18, using callsign “Tobruk 41″ and “Tobruk 42″.

 

I’m pretty sure that most of the readers of this blog don’t know that Tobruk is actually the name of a port city located on eastern Libya, near the border with Egypt. Tobruk is located slightly less than 400 km from Benghazi.

 

The two planes were not involved in any combat mission in response to the attack at the U.S. consulate that cost the life of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens and three American officials. Nor they will if Washington decides to launch a strike against the Libyan jidahists whose camps are believed to be located in the desert of East Libya (since other assets would be used).

[MAVERICK&goose]

Se quello del B-2 si aggira attorno ai 2 miliardi di dollari, qual'è il costo unitario di un velivolo come il B-52?

Bè dipende dai modelli:

 

B-52B: $ 14. 430. 000

B-52H: $ 9. 280. 000 (1962)

B-52H: $ 53. 400. 000 (1998 ed attuale)

 

questi sono i costi unitari di TUTTI I B-52 STRATOFORTRESS!

[TT-1 Pinto]

A proposito di un'eventuale rimotorizzazione dei B-52H .... argomento che, di tanto in tanto, torna ad emergere ....

 

 

A reporter also asked him if, given the shrinking size of the B-52 fleet and its planned retention to the 2040s, re-engining the bombers would make sense.

Kowalski said while he'd "love" to have a new B-52 engine, there are "plenty" of TF-30 engines available—the bombers' current powerplants—and plenty of parts for them.

A re-engining wouldn't pay for itself within the period that the Defense Department requires, so "there's no business case," he said.

 

Fonte .... il "Daily Report" dell'AFA di questa mattina ....

http://www.airforce-magazine.com/DRArchive/Pages/2013/February%202013/February%2007%202013/NewStrategicStuff.aspx

[TT-1 Pinto]

Respirando ....

 

 

SSgt. Mitchell Newman and SrA. Daniel Bohn, members of the 2nd Logistics Readiness Squadron's fuels facilities section, push a cart filled with liquid oxygen for a B-52H Stratofortress at Barksdale AFB, La., April 4, 2013.

A B-52 can hold up to 75 gallons of LOX, which supplies the aircrew with breathable air at high altitudes, according to squadron officials.

(Air Force photo by A1C Andrew Moua)

 

 

[Vultur]

Senza non vanno da nessuna parte e non può essere rifornito in volo. Belli i grembiuli da "non aprite quella porta".

[TT-1 Pinto]

Aggiornamenti e migliorie per i sistemi di comunicazione ....

 

Dal "Daily Report" dell'AFA di questa mattina ....

 

B-52 Digital Upgrade Advances ....

 

Boeing announced receipt of a $76 million contract to continue work on the Combat Network Communications Technology program that is adding new digital displays and communications systems to the Air Force's B-52 bombers.

The contract covers low-rate initial production of the first CONECT kits, along with spare parts and maintenance and service at Tinker AFB, Okla., states the company's May 7 release.

Tinker is home to the B-52 depot.

Installation of the kits is slated to begin in the latter part of 2014, according to the release.

The CONECT gear will allow B-52 aircrews to have access to information via satellite links, giving them the flexibility to "change mission plans and retarget weapons in flight, and better interact with aircraft and ground forces," states the release.

The aircrews can currently upload mission information only before a flight, but not during it.

Air Force Global Strike Command chief Lt. Gen. James Kowalski told lawmakers in mid-April that the Air Force "continues to pursue funding to complete" CONECT.

See also Connect or Disconnect.

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Nebbia ....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAiGf4L01UU

[fabio-22raptor]

Morirò io e lui sarà ancora in volo .. me lo sento ...

 

 

 

Installation of the Combat Network Communications Technology upgrade for the B-52H bomber fleet is scheduled to commence this month at the B-52 depot at Tinker AFB, Okla., according to a base release. The first B-52 to receive the new communications gear will enter programmed depot maintenance at the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex in July for installation of the equipment, a process expected to take nine months to complete, states the June 25 release. "We are bringing this amazing workhorse of a bomber into the digital age and giving our customer the infrastructure necessary for continued future improvements," said Scot Oathout, Boeing's B-52 program director. The company is the prime contractor for the upgrade. CONECT, as it is known, will give B-52 aircrews the ability to alter mission plans and retarget weapons during a mission as well as interact more precisely with other aircraft and ground forces. The current technology allows them to upload mission information only prior to a sortie, according to the release. Boeing announced in May that it had received the first contract for low-rate production of the CONECT kits. (Tinker report by Mike W. Ray)

 

Fonte: Air Force Magazine

[TT-1 Pinto]

Sarà anche vecchio come il cucco .... ma non lasciatevi ingannare ....

 

America’s Upgraded Bomber Is Old as Hell — But Don’t Let That Fool You ....

 

The U.S. Air Force’s most recently upgraded bomber is actually more than 50 years old.

On July 16 a Boeing B-52 built in the early 1960s took off from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana bound for another base in Oklahoma, where technicians are now installing the latest digital technology as part of a $12-billion effort to keep the ancient warplane on the cutting edge of aerial warfare.

 

Fonte .... https://medium.com/war-is-boring/b8ae1a9bb99f

[-{-Legolas-}-]

Quando gli aerei si facevano seriamente, fatti per volare alto e a lungo con un equipaggio di tecnici soldati in carne ed ossa, preparati per sopportare psicologicamente e fisicamente le incognite di un volo che poteva essere di sola andata, supportati da una volontà politica e popolare senza remore, in una struttura con la volontà e le risorse per essere strategicamente vincenti, allora il B-52 si faceva strada nel cuore e nelle menti di amici e nemici, ne ha fatta di strada, e ancora ne farà.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Quando gli aerei si facevano seriamente, fatti per volare alto e a lungo con un equipaggio di tecnici soldati in carne ed ossa, preparati per sopportare psicologicamente e fisicamente le incognite di un volo che poteva essere di sola andata, supportati da una volontà politica e popolare senza remore, in una struttura con la volontà e le risorse per essere strategicamente vincenti, allora il B-52 si faceva strada nel cuore e nelle menti di amici e nemici, ne ha fatta di strada, e ancora ne farà.

 

Specialmente in quelle di chi, anche se al di fuori del mondo aeronautico, ne ha seguito, attraverso i decenni, prima sulle riviste specializzate .... poi sul web, la straordinaria evoluzione ....

 

Il primo ....

 

.... e l'ultimo ....

[holmes7]

Aggiunge anche il pod Sniper ATP.

 

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lockheed-martins-sniper-advanced-targeting-pod-achieves-operational-flight-status-on-us-air-force-b-52-bombers-2013-07-25

[TT-1 Pinto]

Quei temerari .... sulla cresta delle onde ....

 

These Madmen Flew B-52 Bombers at Wave Top Heights .... and amazingly lived to tell about it ....

 

160 feet from tip to tail. 185 feet across. 240 tons of metal, fuel, bombs and human flesh traveling at 650 miles per hour.

You wouldn’t think something so big, moving so fast, would also be capable of skimming the ocean surface at an altitude of just 80 or 90 feet, lower than the deck of an aircraft carrier.

 

Fonte .... https://medium.com/war-is-boring/8edc7e055980

 

 

 

 

 

[TT-1 Pinto]

Ancora sul programma di modernizzazione CONECT (Combat Network Communications Technology) ....

 

CONECT the Dots ....

 

The Air Force has the funding in place to upgrade the communications gear on 30 of its B-52 bombers under the Combat Network Communications Technology program, said Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, on Wednesday.

Service officials are working to secure the funding to upgrade the rest of the B-52 fleet with this equipment, he told attendees of his talk on Capitol Hill that AFA sponsored, along with the National Defense Industrial Association, and Reserve Officers Association.

Already, "the first operational aircraft has gone off to get that upgrade," said Kowalski, referring to last month's departure of a B-52 from Barksdale AFB, La., for the B-52 depot at Tinker AFB, Okla., where technicians will install the CONECT gear.

Last year, when testifying on the Air Force's Fiscal 2013 budget proposal, Kowalski said the service had to cut funding from CONECT due to higher priorities, but would "continue to advocate" for the much-needed upgrade.

At Wednesday's gathering, Kowalski said he expected "the next tranche" of B-52s to get funding for CONECT in Fiscal 2015. CONECT is designed so that B-52 aircrews can send and receive real-time intelligence and targeting information in flight.

 

—June L. Kim .... 8/1/2013

 

Fonte .... il "Daily Report" dell'AFA ....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Lo "Sniper" operativo sul B-52 .... e non solo ....

 

Sniper is Combat-Ready on B-52 ....

 

The Lockheed Martin-built Sniper advanced targeting pod has achieved operational flight status on the B-52 bomber, meaning it is cleared for combat use on the venerable platform, according to Air Force and company officials.

"Achieving operational flight status of the Sniper ATP on the B-52 delivers the pod's flexibility and advanced capabilities to additional warfighters," said Ken Fuhr, Lockheed Martin's director of fixed-wing programs, in a company release.

"Sniper integration will provide aircrews with critical long-range, positive target identification and video data link capability, along with an updated software suite that streamlines the targeting process and improves crew safety," he said.

Airmen at Barksdale AFB, La., and Minot AFB, N.D., received training on using and maintaining Sniper between Feb. 11-22 and April 29-May 10, respectively, Air Force spokesman Charles Gulick told the Daily Report.

Sniper is also integrated on the A-10, B-1, F-15, F-16, and F/A-18.

 

See also Barksdale's B-52s Get Sniper Pod.

 

8/7/2013

 

Fonte .... il "Daily Report" dell'AFA ....

[TT-1 Pinto]

Bảo Tàng Chiến Thắng B.52 .... i resti di un B-52 abbattuto in mostra ad Hanoi ....

 

 

Museum of Victory over B-52 — three interpretations ....

 

Many web search hits bring the reader to what is erroneously called “The B-52 Museum” in Hanoi — or to the location where a fallen B-52 sits in a neighborhood pond which is an outdated description.

The simple answer is that a B-52 Stratofortress was shot down during the first evening of Operation Linebacker II, 18 December 1972, and Vietnam has erected a museum very near the crash site — the Ba Đình neighborhood of Hanoi (Hà Nội) — and it is named the Museum of Victory over B-52 (Bảo Tàng Chiến Thắng B.52).

The B-52 wreckage has been removed from the pond formerly named Huu Tiep Lake but is now called B-52 Lake (May Bay B52).

 

Fonte .... http://travelforaircraft.wordpress.com/2013/08/12/b-52-victory-museum-write/

 

 

 

[Scagnetti]

Dopo igli upgrade CONECT e Sniper, già presentati in questa pagina l'upgrade 1760 Internal Weapons Bay Upgrade che aumenterà la capacità di carico di JDAM del 67%: http://www.defencetalk.com/upgrade-gives-b-52-bomber-more-teeth-49162/

 

All 1760 IWBUs should be online by October 2017, Williams said. With them, each B-52 will bring much more firepower to the fight.

“Now instead of three aircraft carrying 36 weapons, we can have two aircraft carrying 40 weapons,” Williams said. “That lowers your number of crews for a mission, and lowers your fuel requirement, or it gives you the option to be able to put more weapons on target with the same number of aircraft. It will make us more efficient and more responsive to the warfighter.”

 

Io sinceramente non so proprio se valga la pena investire in tanti upgrade sul B-52 (il terzo di cui parliamo dall'estate in questa pagina) invece di concentrare gli sforzi sul programma per il bomber futuro...

[Vultur]

Bella domanda, secondo me è che il bomber futuro rappresenterà la punta di lancia della ricerca scientifica, il bombardiere-invisibile-definitivo-per l'air "dominance" e via dicendo ... Insomma il solito programma mostruoso, specie nei costi.

Il B-52 invece è ancora utile per incenerire a prezzo di saldo obbiettivi più "facili".

Un'altra domanda mi sorge spontanea: se è vero che gli ultimi B-52H risalirebbero agli anni sessanta o settanta (cioè a quarant'anni fà), tutto il discorso sull'invecchiamento delle cellule, sulla fatica del metallo, ecc ... che fine fa? Il B-52 era costruito in modo diverso da oggi forse?

 

(Ai vietnamiti, con rispetto parlando, spiegate per piacere che "stratofortress" si scriverebbe con due "s" e non con una).

[Flaggy]

Non è che ci sia un modo diverso di fare gli aerei, ma c'è una vita a fatica risultante in base al numero di ore volate dal velivolo e al grado di sollecitazione effettivo. Se il velivolo è progettato per volare parecchie ore (durante la guerra fredda si supponeva ci fossero sempre dei B-52 armati in volo), viene fatto volare meno (la guerra fredda è finita) e le sollecitazioni sono inferiori a quelle ipotizzate in sede di progetto, se magari si sovradimensiona un po' la struttura per via dell'implicita difficoltà a calcolare con precisione gli stati di sollecitazione (erano gli anni 40-50) e infine si dispone di una spaventosa quantità di pezzi di ricambio (furono centinaia i B-52 prodotti), ecco che gli aerei possono durare molto più del previsto. Il B-52 probabilmente risponde a tutti questi requisiti.

[TT-1 Pinto]

Un'altra domanda mi sorge spontanea: se è vero che gli ultimi B-52H risalirebbero agli anni sessanta o settanta (cioè a quarant'anni fà), tutto il discorso sull'invecchiamento delle cellule, sulla fatica del metallo, ecc ... che fine fa? Il B-52 era costruito in modo diverso da oggi forse?

 

L'ultimo B-52H venne consegnato nell'Ottobre del 1962 .... dunque oltre cinquant'anni fa ....

 

http://www.airforcemag.com/DRArchive/Pages/2012/October%202012/October%2029%202012/BabyBUFFReaches50YearsofService.aspx

 

http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/aircraft-pictures/2012/10/happy-50th-birthday---thanks-f/

 

(Ai vietnamiti, con rispetto parlando, spiegate per piacere che "stratofortress" si scriverebbe con due "s" e non con una).

 

Devi capirli .... sono tuttora scioccati a causa degli effetti di Linebacker II ....

 

http://www.airforcemag.com/MagazineArchive/Documents/1997/November%201997/1197linebacker.pdf

Modificato 24 Settembre 2013 da TT-1 Pinto

[nik978]

a margine

molti anni fa, durante la guerra del vietnam, un mio ex collega fu invitato alla ambasciata vietnamita a praga.

Gli regalarono un anello, che ha ancora e mi ha mostrato, fatto usando il materiale di aerei americani abbattuti (lui dice B52..)

Modificato 4 Ottobre 2013 da nik978

[-{-Legolas-}-]

Alla Minot AFB, hanno deciso di fare le cose in grande.

 

17 Buff in volo per l'esercitazione