‘Keeping B-52s Flying with Scarce Parts’: Airmen Scramble to Do More with Less

The B-52 Stratofortress long-range bomber has been in service since the 1960s. As it continues to age, the U.S. Air Force is facing numerous challenges in keeping it operational at BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. Maintaining spare parts for the B-52s is a struggle, with the industrial base needed to repair broken components or make new ones drying up. To keep the B-52 bomber operational, up to 200% increase in cannibalization has taken place since 2019. With a shrinking vendor base and decreasing pool of parts, it could take months or even years to acquire essential components. However, the Air Force is looking to modernize the B-52 in a variety of ways. The TF33 engines will be replaced by Rolls-Royce F130 engines, and Pratt & Whitney has been awarded a contract meant to sustain nearly 1,000 TF33s until spring 2034. These changes will make other parts of the B-52 easier to monitor, and as maintainers make repairs, the Air Force remains committed to keeping up its own B-52 parts industrial base.