Overview
- The Air Force’s FY2027 budget request includes $1 million for a Heavy Bomber Analysis of Alternatives that will size up future long‑range strike needs and weigh further B‑52 upgrades against designing a new heavy bomber.
- The AoA will map key performance goals, define system traits, and examine program plans and vendor paths, and the review does not lock the service into building a new aircraft.
- The study follows a classified proof‑of‑concept tied to B‑52 improvements that concluded in FY2025 under an Advanced Concept Demonstration line, which received about $3.872 million that year.
- The B‑52J upgrade track continues with new Rolls‑Royce F130 engines and a Raytheon‑derived active electronically scanned array radar, though re‑engining and radar work have slipped and initial operational capability has moved to about 2033.
- Current plans keep roughly 76 B‑52s in service through at least 2050 alongside at least 100 B‑21 Raiders, with the B‑52 shifting toward standoff weapons as industry capacity remains tight, with Northrop Grumman the only U.S. company now building heavy bombers.