https://www.airandspaceforces.com/re...ed-b-52-b-52j/
It’s Official: The Re-Engined B-52 Will be the B-52J
Once they receive their new Rolls Royce F130 engines, B-52Hs will become B-52Js, according to the Air Force’s fiscal 2024 budget documents.
The designation resolves a question that had been
debated for several years, as the B-52 undergoes some of the most significant improvements in the H model’s 61-year service life.
“Any B-52H aircraft modified with the new commercial engines and associated subsystems are designated as B-52J,” the Air Force said in justification documents for its 2024 budget request.
The service had been considering various designations for the improved Stratofortress, because in addition to new engines, the B-52 will also be receiving
a new radar, as well as
new communications and navigation equipment and weapons, among other improvements intended to keep it credible and capable through the 2050s.
Given the number of major changes, Global Strike Command had considered using interim designations—“J” model aircraft would have then become B-52Ks.…