# New life for the B-52



## ClayO (Jul 23, 2021)

USAF's oldest bomber is being proposed as a platform for its newest weapon: the hypersonic missile.

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## ClayO (Jul 23, 2021)

If you're like me, and aren't clear on what a hypersonic missile is, exactly, here's an article that explains that, as well as some of the pros and cons.

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## Thumpalumpacus (Jul 23, 2021)

The strength of the B-52 has always been, imho, that its size allows for mods permitting the upgrade of payload, avionics, and ECM to keep it survivable (if only barely, or only under conditions of air superiority) in hostile airspace.

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## ARTESH (Jul 23, 2021)

Not an specialist in these things! but like it!


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## rochie (Jul 24, 2021)

wondering if there has been a more cost effective large weapons system ever ?

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## SaparotRob (Jul 24, 2021)

Thrown rocks?

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## rochie (Jul 24, 2021)

SaparotRob said:


> Thrown rocks?


yup or maybe harsh language ?

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## Thumpalumpacus (Jul 24, 2021)

When I was with the 801st during Desert Storm, our -52 strikes were of three birds, each carrying 51 750-lb bombs; over 38,000 lbs of bombs apiece, albeit all dumb. However, the nav and targeting systems were very accurate.

I remember one time we had a rah-rah meeting in the base theater to show us ground-crew what our planes were doing. One mission was against a cement plant in Northern Iraq, about a mile long and 1/3 mile wide target zone. The base intel guy showed us before-and-after slides on the screen.

The "after" pic showed perhaps eight or nine craters outside of the TZ, out of 153 bombs dropped. I honestly felt sorry for those poor bastards at that point. That cement plant was almost literally obliterated; it looked like a moonscape. And that was three planes.

I could only imagine what we did to that fortification line they dug south and west of Kuwait ... and their troops inside ... once we got to that stage of the war a week or two later.

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## Admiral Beez (Dec 14, 2022)

How about an airliner?

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## GrauGeist (Dec 15, 2022)

Admiral Beez said:


> How about an airliner?



Why not?

Boeing's 747 started out as a USAF proposal for a heavy-lift transport, which the C-5 Galaxy won out, so it developed into what we know today.

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