The B-52 bomber’s radar upgrade is delayed until at least 2030, with aging systems and outdated practices complicating efforts to modernize the Cold War-era aircraft for decades of future use.
The United States Air Force’s fleet of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress continues to be upgraded and enhanced to keep the aircraft flying well into the 2040s and beyond. However, its largest is now running a bit beyond schedule.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned in its Weapons Systems Assessment, published earlier this month, that the B-52 Radar Modernization Program (B-52 RMP) may not be completed until the end of 2030, at least three years behind schedule.
According to the Pentagon, the B-52 RMP will replace the legacy APQ-166 radar, which has been determined to be increasingly unstable, with a modified version of the more advanced and capable APG-79 Bomber Modernized Radar System.
“Replacement of the aging legacy radar is intended to increase system reliability and reduce sustainment costs. The Bomber Modernized Radar System will also provide new high-resolution ground mapping capabilities to improve target location accuracy and capabilities to track moving surface and air targets,” a 2023 B-52 RMP report explained.
What Is the AESA AN/APG-79?
The APG-79 is a version of the Raytheon AESA AN/APG-79 radar already being used to update the United States Marine Corps’ Boeing F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighters. It employs active electronic beam scanning, which, according to Raytheon, allows the radar beam to be steered at nearly the speed of light, providing greater situational awareness and superior air-to-air and air-to-surface capabilities.
The agile beam enables the multimode radar to interleave in near-real-time, meaning that the pilot and crew can simultaneously use modes.
The radars are part of other upgrades to the B-52H, including new engines, navigation, and communication systems. These enhancements are significant enough that the Stratofortress will receive a new designation when completed, becoming the B-52J. It is unclear why the B-52K was skipped over.
The GAO May Want to Retire the B-52 Bombers
The GAO warned that while the new radar will enhance the aircraft’s capabilities, the upgrade program is struggling to stick to its schedule. The watchdog noted that the B-52 RMP program office has already notified the Air Force’s senior acquisition executive that “it will breach the baselines schedule for the production start and initial operational capability.”
The program officials have already delayed the first and second low-rate production decisions by nearly a year (11 months) each. At the same time, the GAO explained, “they are now planned for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2026 and the second quarter of fiscal year 2027, respectively.”
One issue with the upgrades is that the bomber first entered service in the 1950s, with the final models built in the 1960s. The aircraft are older than the parents, and likely grandparents in some cases, of the current crews flying them. That has complicated matters, but so too has the age of the radar.
“[The] B-52 RMP is not employing digital engineering leading practices such as creating a digital twin or using a digital thread, which can provide predictive knowledge about a system’s performance and allow for faster design iterations,” the GAO report noted.
“Program officials explained that a digital twin or thread is difficult and costly to develop, mainly due to a 20-year-old radar hardware design.”
However, the watchdog suggested that the “adoption of modern tools and methods could help optimize production, ensure the system works as intended, and increase future agility to ensure the system remains relevant and effective.”
It added that “knowledge in the digital thread informs decision-making through the product life cycle, such as whether to make specific changes to the product’s design.”
The Air Force has previously sought alternative radar sources, but changing course would likely result in further delays.
Once these updates are completed, the B-52J will continue to serve as the workhorse for the US Air Force, alongside the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, which is set to begin entering service in the 2030s, replacing the Rockwell B-1 Lancer and the Northrop B-2 Spirit. Current plans call for the B-52 fleet to remain 76-strong, with new engines, radars, and other enhancements. The crew size is also reduced from five to four as part of the onboard updates.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image Credit: Shutterstock/Christopher Chambers.
