Originally Posted by
Heathrow Harry
Ken
given the continued apparent usefulness of the B-52 do you think they'd ever go for a replacement - a striaght sub-sonic, BIG, bomb truck that can carry just about anything you can think of?????
Or is it a bit like the fabled DC-3 replacement - so many built and available you could never get the price low enough to build a replacement??
Unlike the DC-3 the B-52 cannot fly forever. It WILL run out of service life. Once the B-21 (really? 21 because its the first 21st century design?!) ) gets into service and goes into full production, USAF will almost certainly have to start getting serious about replacing the B-52. Depending on the source, the B-21 might not have true strategic range, which if true will mean a true long range bomber will be needed to replace the B-52. And it will very likely have at least some stealth, so it won't look at all like the B-52. But it likely will not have the extreme level of stealth the B-21 has, which (reportedly) includes stealth against lower frequency radars (VHF and UHF) which the B-2 lacks, especially from the rear. But a lot can change in the meantime, so who knows? For all we know that new bomber might be optimized as a directed energy weapon platform, with the B-21 doing duty as the bomb truck. Who knows?