L'anno del B-52 .....

[Vultur]

A me sembra che ci sia qualcosa che non mi torna: i più "giovani" B-52H hanno 51 anni. E tutto il discorso della senescenza delle cosiddette cellule, della fatica del metallo eccetera eccetera non va tutto a farsi benedire?
Poi mi vengono a parlare di certi aerei che sono in servizio da vent'anni e ormai sarebbero "vecchi" e andrebbero assolutamente sostituiti.
Il B-52 non era manco progettato per la "fatica" delle missioni a bassa quota, può trasportare trenta tonnellate di bombe e il meno vecchio ha 51 anni!!!

[richelieu]

Rimotorizzazione o no ?
L'opinione di Bill Sweetman .....

"Opinion: Bumbling Caused B-52 Reengining Delay" .....
http://aviationweek.com/defense/opinion ... ning-delay

[richelieu]

Agli antipodi .....

BUFF in the Top End .....

12/10/2014

A B-52 bomber touched down at RAAF Darwin, Australia, for a joint training exercise with the Royal Australian Air Force on Monday, RAAF officials announced.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 638&type=1

"This purposed event is to highlight the intent for increased US Air Force training with the RAAF" following the Defense Department's enhanced force posture agreement signed with Australia earlier this year, according to a Pacific Air Forces release.

http://www.pacaf.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123433568

The B-52s will simulate strike missions over the nearby Delamere Training Range in Australia's northern territory, and practice intercepts with RAAF F-18 fighters of 75 Squadron flying from neighboring RAAF Tindal, according to PACAF.
Air Force F-16s deployed to Tindal for Australia's largest air exercise—Exercise Pitch Black, for the first time in many years, this summer.
The B-52, which redeployed from Andersen AFB, Guam, marked the third bomber deployment to Darwin since 2010, and "future rotations are still under discussion," according to the release.
The bomber arrived in Australia on Dec. 8.

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

[MatteF88]

Sgancio delle bombe dalla stiva ripreso con una gopro

Che bombe sono? Hanno un aspetto un po' antiquato rispetto alle mk82..

[richelieu]

Sgancio delle bombe dalla stiva ripreso con una gopro
Che bombe sono? Hanno un aspetto un po' antiquato rispetto alle mk82 ..

Infatti ..... "M117 GENERAL PURPOSE BOMB" ..... http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsh ... sp?id=1031

Inoltre ..... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M117_bomb



.

[MatteF88]

Interessante, non pensavo usassero ancora bombe "stile anni '50"...

[Lampo 13]

Beh, le MK82 e 83 le usavamo noi 30 anni fa ed erano vecchie...

[richelieu]

Quando i mitraglieri dei B-52 sparavano ai MiG-21 ..... e, in qualche occasione, riuscivano a beccarli .....

..... the B-52 retained at least lip service to self defense in the form of a tail gunner.
He manned a deadly quadruple stinger of four .50 caliber machine guns aimed remotely from his cupola in the tail of the Stratofortress.
Most of the time he was a bored passenger in the back of the B-52 on a bombing mission, but during Linebacker II, he would earn his pay, and his gunpowder.

Fonte ..... "Gunfight: The B-52 MiG Kills of Linebacker II." .....
http://alert5.net/2015/01/01/gunfight-t ... backer-ii/
.

[richelieu]

Si riparla dell'eventualità di una rimotorizzazione .....

"USAF Looking at B-52 Engine Options" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /23185827/

[richelieu]

Questi verranno 'evirati' .....

B-52 Denuclearization Set to Begin .....

Arie Church (2/13/2015)

Air Force Global Strike Command will begin denuclearizing 30 B-52H bombers to conventional-only configuration within the next nine months to meet limits under the New START agreement.
“We’ll be starting that process and it's basically going to be a box … it will be outboard visible … so you’ll be able to tell which ones are modified,” AFGSC boss Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson said on Thursday.
“We’ve already looked at it, tested it, and now [we] just need to get it in production,” he added at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando.
Under the New START agreement both the United States and Russia must cut nuclear arsenals to 1,550 deployed warheads, 700 deployed launchers, and 800 deployed and non-deployed launchers by February 2018.
Wilson said AFGSC will “easily make that” deadline and actually plans to meet New START limits by 2017, to give room for unexpected complications.
“We​'re on a path both with the bombers and the ICBMs … but there’s still a significant amount of labor that has to be done,” he said.

Questo, invece, lo hanno 'resuscitato' .....

Boneyard BUFF Heads Back to Service .....

Arie Church2/13/2015



A B-52H bomber resurrected from the boneyard is slated for delivery to Barksdale AFB, La., this week in preparation to rejoin the operational fleet, Air Force Global Strike Command boss Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson said on Thursday.

http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/D ... ilson.aspx

Serial number 61-0007 was held in type 1,000 storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz, and will be the first B-52H regenerated back into the fleet, officials at Tinker AFB, Okla., said in a rel​ea​se earlier this year.

http://www.tinker.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123436624

“We had an accident with one of our B-52s … [and] we were not going to be able to use that airplane, so we pulled one out of the boneyard,” Wilson said, speaking at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando on Feb. 12.
A cockpit oxygen fire caused severe damage to the aircraft, but no serious injuries to personnel, he said.
Maintainers at Barksdale will upgrade 0007 to the fleet-wide standards before ferrying the aircraft to Tinker for full-up programmed depot maintenance later this year.
The aircraft last underwent PDM in 2004, and will return to operations at Barksdale in summer 2016, according to the release.

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

[richelieu]

Ancora sul B-52 'risorto' .....

"B-52 takes flight after regeneration in the Boneyard" .....
http://photorecon.net/b-52-takes-flight ... -boneyard/

[richelieu]

B-52 IQT (Initial Qualification Training) ..... sta iniziando una rivoluzione .....

USAF Overhauls B-52 Training .....

Amy McCullough (2/23/2015)

The first class to undergo Air Force Global Strike Command’s revamped B-52 initial qualification training arrived at Barksdale AFB, La., last week, according to a Feb. 19 release .....

http://www.barksdale.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123439586

The new syllabus, which was based on recommendations from the bomber force improvement program, is intended to better prepare B-52 aviators for 21st century warfare.
Previously, B-52 IQT was one of the longest of any airframe in the Air Force inventory, but the new construct is shorter and more focused, USAF spokesman Maj. Phillip Ventura told Air Force Magazine.
The new IQT program now offers a one-to-one student-to-instructor ratio, that not only improves the quality of instruction but also reduces the amount of time spent in training, states the release.
“This will reduce the number of training sorties required, while also providing more effective B-52 combat aviators in the ends,” said Lt. Col. Erik Johnson, 2nd Bomb Wing chief of safety.
In addition, operational squadrons are now responsible for training mission qualification tasks.
"This product will greatly differ from what IQT previously created," said Johnson.
“We’re expecting aviators to be more proficient in the fundamental operation of the aircraft, a greater capacity for students to learn on their own after graduation, and more effectively use the time given at the field training unit.”

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

[richelieu]

Un solitario B-52 .....


A B-52H Stratofortress from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, N.D., passes over the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va., March 2, 2015.
The flyover was part of the Air Force ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the shootdown of the first US airman who was taken prisoner during the Vietnam War.
(Staff photo by Arie Church)

Saluting Those Imprisoned With Honor .....

Arie Church (3/3/2015)

A lone B-52 passed over the Air Force Memorial on Monday on the 50th anniversary of the shootdown of the first airman taken prisoner during the Vietnam War.
"Fifty years ago today, the United States kicked off Operation Rolling Thunder, led by a B-52 assault," said Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh before laying a wreath in honor of the service's prisoners of war during the March 2 ceremony in Arlington, Va.
"The US would also lose more than 1,000 aircraft in that campaign," including the F-100 of pilot 1st Lt. Hayden Lockhart, said Welsh.
"He was the first Air Force prisoner of the Vietnam conflict and would remain a prisoner until his release on Feb. 12, 1973, nearly eight years later," noted Welsh.
In addition to the 566 airmen held prisoner during the conflict, another 512 airmen went missing in action.
"Imagine that there is no joyful reunion, no tearful hug. Nothing but a deep, dark hole in your heart where love somehow lives on," said Welsh, addressing the audience of former POWs, their families, airmen, and officials.
Welsh charged today's airmen to pledge themselves "to making those great airmen as proud of us as we are of them."
See also the Air Force's release ..... http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/t ... emony.aspx

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

[richelieu]

OTTO nuovi motori per il B-52H ..... meno consumo e meno fumo nel futuro dell' intramontabile .....

End of The Smoke Trail .....

Arie Church (4/22/2015)


A B-52 takes off from Barksdale AFB, La., July 16, 2013.
(Air Force photo by SrA. Micaiah Anthony​​​)

​The Air Force expects to have industry proposals in hand by "this summer" for re-engining the B-52H bomber fleet, according to Air Force Global Strike Command boss Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson .....

http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/Biographies/D ... ilson.aspx

In preliminary discussions "almost every industry engine partner has come forward and said they can give us a 35 percent more fuel-efficient engine," said Wilson at an AFA-sponsored talk on Capitol Hill on April 21.
"What that means is that I can get about 35 percent more range out of the B-52," which already boasts substantial reach, he said.
An added bonus is that a more fuel-efficient B-52 would "use about a third less" tanker support, said Wilson, allowing high-demand tankers to reallocate to support other missions.
He said initial analysis points to a one-for-one engine swapout, thus keeping the B-52's eight-engine configuration instead of moving to four turbofans.
"We'd have to do less modification to other parts [of the B-52 to keep an eight-engine variant, so we are moving forward" under that design assumption, he said.

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

[sidew]

Non riesco a capire perché non vogliono provare a fare una configurazione con 4 turbofan...

A parte che vanno rifatti gli attacchi delle gondole e le varie connessioni per fuel e servizi...

[richelieu]

Quell' ultima bomba .....


A close-up of an M117 general-purpose bomb at Andersen AFB, Guam. ​
Air Force photo by SrA. Alexander W. Riedel​​

End of an Era .....

Amy McCullough (4/23/2015)

Andersen AFB, Guam

A B-52 bomber deployed here from Barksdale AFB, La., as part of the Air Force’s continuous bomber presence mission will drop the base’s last M117 general-purpose bomb in June, said officials during a recent visit.

http://www.8af.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123441441

Lt. Col. Scott Maytan, commander of the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, told Air Force Magazine there were some “31,000 M117s in the bomb depot” during the first CBP rotation in 2004.
Since then, each bomber rotation has dropped an average of 700 of the bombs.
“That signals a lot of good training over a decade for a lot of good weapons,” said Lt. Col. Sean Walker, deputy commander of the 36th Operations Group.
“It’s 40 to 50 years in the making, this last drop,” he added.
The M117 is a 750-pound general purpose bomb that the United States used extensively during the Korean War, Vietnam War, and against Iraq in 1991.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsh ... sp?id=1031

“It is uncertain as to when M117s were first present at [Andersen], although through word of mouth, it’s been said that many were dropped during Operation Linebacker II missions over North Vietnam,” said 36th Wing spokeswoman 1st Lt. Jessica Clark.
The bombs became the weapon of choice on CBP sorties because they provided valuable training to bomber crews and their use prevented officials from having to spend a “significant amount of money to ship the munitions" to the continental US for demilitarization, she said.

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

[giragyro]

intramontabile BUFF

[richelieu]

Missione a lungo raggio .....

Eager BUFFs .....

(5/21/2015)

A pair of B-52s flew a more than 14,000-mile strike mission from Barksdale AFB, La., to Jordan, as part of US Central Command's Exercise Eager Lion earlier this week, US Strategic Command announced.
The flights were "specifically designed to ensure maximum opportunities to synchronize and integrate USSTRATCOM bomber capabilities with regional partners, fostering cooperation and increasing interoperability," said STRATCOM Commander Adm. Cecil Haney in a release .....

http://www.afgsc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123448439

The 2nd Bomb Wing B-52s flew alongside Jordanian F-16s and coordinated with Jordanian joint terminal attack controllers, demonstrating conventional weapons employment during the more than 30-hour mission, May 17-18.
The multi-national exercise included some 10,000 US and partner nation forces, according to the release.


A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress and Jordanian Armed Forces F-16's fly over during a combined live fire demonstration during Exercise Eager Lion in Wadi Shadiya, Jordan, May 18, 2015.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Sean Searfus CE MARFOR CENTCOM FWD COMCAM/ Released)

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

[richelieu]

Obiettivo ..... Svezia ..... e ritorno (senza scalo) .....

BALTOPS Bombers .....

(5/26/2015)

Two B-52s will simulate a naval strike mission off the coast of Eastern Sweden as part of the NATO-led multinational exercise BALTOPS next month, reported Radio Sweden.
"The main objective is to increase the different operative capabilities, but also to send clear security political signals that we do these things together," Swedish military representative to NATO, Maj. Gen. Karl Engelbrektson said, in the May 20 report .....

http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.as ... el=6170058

The most spectacular part of these exercises will take place on the 13th of June, when two American B-52 bombers will be flying from the US and simulate dropping naval mines outside Ravlunda on the Swedish east coast.
After the mission, which is supposed to simulate the defence of the coast when it is attacked by an amphibious operation, the bombers will return to the US without any stop-overs.

"How Russia interprets that, they can decide for themselves," he added.
The B-52s will support a scenario defending the Swedish coastline from an amphibious invasion force near a small coastal town on the Baltic Sea, according to the press.
Several B-52s flew a similar non-stop, long-range strike sortie from Barksdale AFB, La., to participate in Exercise Eager Lion in Jordan last week.

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

[richelieu]

Quando un B-52 volava con sette motori .....

Treasures can be found in the most ordinary of places.
A worn cardboard box can neatly contain a wealth of memories.
For Ken Benson, a former test engineer at Pratt & Whitney, one such treasure is old film footage of his days testing the JT9D in a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
Thanks to digital conversion, the images are again unlocked, and a fascinating story takes flight.

Fonte ..... "B-52 Re-Birth from Boneyard Sparks Memories for Former Pratt & Whitney Pilot" .....
http://www.pw.utc.com/News/Story/20150526-1400
.

[richelieu]

Gite in America Latina .....

BUFF Heads to Colombia .....

(7/10/2015)

A B-52 bomber from Minot AFB, N.D., launched July 9 on a 16-hour, non-stop training sortie, rendezvousing with Colombian air force aircraft over Colombia this week, US Strategic Command announced .....
http://www.afgsc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123452989
The 5th Bomb Wing crew also flew a demonstration as part of the Colo​mbian international airshow in Antioquia, Colombia, on Thursday.
"The aircraft's participation in this airshow and the training conducted alongside our Colombian partners allow our strategic aircrews to maintain a high state of readiness and crew proficiency," STRATCOM Commander Adm. Cecil Haney said in a release.
A B-52 conducted training in the US Southern Command area of responsibility last year during Exercise PANAMAX, and also appeared at the Colombia international airshow back in 2006, according to STRATCOM.


Lt. Col. Monte Wiley, 69th Bomb Squadron pilot (left), completes pre-flight check as Capt. Kristin Nelson, 23rd BS pilot (right), listens to input from other crew members inside their B-52H Stratofortress at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., July 9, 2015.
Wiley and Nelson piloted one of two B-52H Stratofortresses participating in a 16-hour mission to support an air show in Rio Negro, Colombia.
(U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Stephanie Morris)

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

[richelieu]

Diamone qualcuno ad Israele ..... magari con una bella dotazione di MOP .....

"Former Obama Aide: Bolster Israel With B-52s" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /30252579/

[giragyro]

giusto per buttare JetA1 sul fuoco ....

[MatteF88]

Mi sembra perfettamente logico prima un'apertura storica verso l'Iran permettendogli di sviluppare il suo programma nucleare, poi si danno agli israeliani i B-52 con le MOP per distruggere gli eventuali bunker/laboratori per le ricerche nucleari in modo che gli USA non debbano sporcarsi le mani e farlo di loro iniziativa...che storia..ci sono 40º all'ombra anche dalle parti di Washington per caso? Altrimenti non si spiega un uscita del genere se non con un colpo di calore

[richelieu]

Apro OT .....

Intanto ..... Israele si prepara a 'batter cassa' .....

Israel is preparing to deliver a list of aircraft and weapons it wants from the USA as a “compensation package” for the recent agreement with Iran that limited Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Its shopping list is likely to include additional Lockheed Martin F-35 combat aircraft, Boeing KC-46A tankers, Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotors, and additional munitions not previously exported by the USA.

Fonte ..... "Israel wants US 'compensation' for Iran nuclear deal" .....
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... ar-414750/

Chiudo OT .....
.

[Vultur]

Sarà musica per le orecchie americane.

[richelieu]

Dall' archivio di AW&ST .....

"Aviation Week Lifts Veil On Boeing B-52 Bomber (1952)" .....
http://aviationweek.com/blog/aviation-w ... omber-1952

[mib]

A me sembra che ci sia qualcosa che non mi torna: i più "giovani" B-52H hanno 51 anni. E tutto il discorso della senescenza delle cosiddette cellule, della fatica del metallo eccetera eccetera non va tutto a farsi benedire?
Poi mi vengono a parlare di certi aerei che sono in servizio da vent'anni e ormai sarebbero "vecchi" e andrebbero assolutamente sostituiti.
Il B-52 non era manco progettato per la "fatica" delle missioni a bassa quota, può trasportare trenta tonnellate di bombe e il meno vecchio ha 51 anni!!!

in realtà non è così: un aereo come il B-52 vola come un aereo di linea, ossia come i 747 in volo da 30/40 anni, o come i DC-3 in volo da 70, o come i C-130, i C-5, i Transall e gli Antonov da almeno mezzo secolo.
Non sono dei caccia, che soffrono di grandi sollecitazioni e sforzi, proprio per via del fatto che compiono grandi acrobazie ad elevato numero di G durano poco. Sono grandi aerei lenti, subsonici (quindi con meno sollecitazioni), che volano sempre ad alta quota (quindi con poco attrito sull'atmosfera).
Inoltre sono stati progettati come aerei da carico, ossia per poter sopportare grandi carchi, sia interni (come una infinita varietà di bombe e missili) sia esterni (come tutta la serie di aerei sperimentali, dagli X-15 ai droni) e quindi hanno una struttura interno robustissima, che riescono a muovere non col solito sistema da quadrireattore, ma appunto con una formula particolare, usata solo dal B-52: l'esareattore.
E' proprio per questo che il B-52 ancora dura...come del resto anche il C-130

[giragyro]

mib , guarda che il B52 durante tutti gli anni 80 e fino alla caduta del cosidetto blocco dell'est ha volato a bassissima quota in missioni di penetrazione profonda sul territorio nemico , queste missioni sono tra le più usuranti , ad esclusione delle operazioni imbarcate , che un aereo possa compiere .
Altra piccola correzione , il B52 di motori ne ha 8 non 6...

[richelieu]

mib , guarda che il B52 durante tutti gli anni 80 e fino alla caduta del cosidetto blocco dell'est ha volato a bassissima quota in missioni di penetrazione profonda sul territorio nemico, queste missioni sono tra le più usuranti, ad esclusione delle operazioni imbarcate, che un aereo possa compiere.
Altra piccola correzione, il B52 di motori ne ha 8 non 6 ...

Tanto per precisare .....

Comunque .....

[anonymous12345]

C'è da dire che la manutenzione del SAC era letteralmente maniacale, cellule con decine di migliaia di ore di volo sono praticamente nuove..

[Vultur]

A causa delle ECM dei B-52, i nordvietnamiti a volte avevano problemi a determinare con precisione l'altitudine esatta dei bombardieri americani. Così spesso succedeva che un Mig-21 saliva, si metteva alla quota dei B-52 e ne comunicava altitudine, velocità ... Non cercava di abbatterli, ma lasciava che ci provasse la difesa contraerea.
La torre di coda dei B-52 può girare di novanta gradi da una parte e dall'altra. I piloti dei Mig-21 lo sapevano benissimo e badavano bene a non scadere in coda ai bombardieri, restando loro affiancati (con scambi reciproci di benvenuto con gesti internazionali, soprattutto da parte americana: i nordvietnamiti avevano altro cui pensare), MA in realtà gli armieri si accorsero che la torretta di coda poteva anche superare i novanta gradi a destra e sinistra. Appena un pilota nemico dava evidenti segni di distrazione e con il suo Mig-21 cominciava a rimanere in dietro, avvicinandosi pericolosamente alla coda del B-52, il mitragliere lo rimetteva subito in riga.

[giragyro]

C'è da dire che la manutenzione del SAC era letteralmente maniacale, cellule con decine di migliaia di ore di volo sono praticamente nuove..

il Sac non aveva praticamente limiti di budget , potevano spendere come e quanto volevano senza dover rendere conto a nessuno , se non a qualche commissione senatoriale facilmente manovrabile ed alla bisogna screditabile con la legge MacArthur . Di certo i denari furono ( agli occhi degli americani ) spesi bene garantendo una deterrenza credibile 24/7 ma oggi come oggi nessun paese al mondo potrebbe nemmeno lontanamente sognarsi di bruciare tanto denaro pubblico ...

[richelieu]

Ancora sulla rimotorizzazione .....

"USAF Looking at B-52 Engine Options" .....
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defens ... /23185827/

[giragyro]

con i nuovo motori arriverebbe fino al 2040 come previsto ?