Talking about the world's longest service life combat aircraft generally will not exceed 50 years, but the U.S. Air Force has a strategic bomber, born in the 1950s, has been in service for nearly 65 years, according to the news disclosed by the US media, the US Air Force plans to modernize this classic aircraft, it will be served until about 2050, when the entire service cycle of the US B-52 series of strategic bombers is close to 100 years, undoubtedly becoming the longest service time in the history of human aviation development. The reason why the B-52 strategic bomber can create this record is directly related to its continuous improvement and development process that has kept pace with the times since its birth, and through continuous upgrading and improvement according to combat needs and technological progress, the B-52 has continuously rejuvenated new vitality on major battlefields and has become the core driving force of its old Ji Fuzhi in the thousands of miles. In the development process of the B-52 strategic bomber, it has successively experienced the supersonic penetration of the strategic bomber from hypersonic speed to variable swept wing, and then to the technical change of stealth penetration, the B-52 has been looking for the value of its own existence according to the continuous changes in the form of war, and witnessed the development and transformation of the world's military aviation technology.
B-52 old Ji Futuo, fighting for 100 years
The first recorded aerial bombing in the history of human aviation development was on November 1, 1911, when Lieutenant Garfoti, Italy, piloted a "Langpel-Doby" aircraft and dropped four bombs weighing about 2 kilograms at the Turkish army in Libya, although the results of this aerial bombing were extremely limited, but also witnessed the basic level of air bombing development in the context of that time. In fact, the early aerial bombardment was so simple, the pilot pilot flew a simple aircraft to throw various small bombs into the ground target by hand, and humans began to try to strike ground targets in the air.
Two years later, the world's first dedicated bomber designed by the Russian Igor Sikorsky made its first successful flight, which is of epoch-making significance in the history of the development of aerial bombing. The bomber, named "Ilya Murometz", could carry up to 800 kilograms of bombs, stored in a specially designed bomb compartment in the fuselage, and for the first time introduced electric bombdroppers, bombing sights, and pilot and pilot instruments to the aircraft, and the earliest bombers were basically formed. At the end of 1914, Russia used Ilya Murometz bombers to form the world's first bomber unit.
The early aerial bombardments were simple aircraft, simple bomb dropping
In the subsequent outbreak of the First World War, bombers began to be widely used in the war, due to the limitations of aviation technology and operational theory at that time, the bombers that appeared in this period were mostly simple biplanes, which were very limited in bomb carrying capacity and range, but it was after the baptism of the First World War that the new concept of the Air Force at that time began to enter the human war civilization, paving the way for subsequent development.
After the end of World War I, As one of the earliest air force strategists and advocates of the air force, William Mitchell put forward a crucial theory for the subsequent development of the air force, advocating that the aircraft of the air force be divided into three main types of aircraft: destroyer, strike aircraft and bomber, and compose the three major branches of the air force expulsion aviation, the strong strike aviation and the bombing aviation. It actually promoted the test of bombing submarines, cruisers and battleships of great historical significance in the history of the development of the Air Force from 1920 to 1921, laying the foundation for the popularization and use of bombers in World War II and the rapid development of technology.
William Mitchell's practical activities in bombing submarines, cruisers and battleships were of great historical significance for the subsequent development of the Air Force
In World War II, the new war style represented by german blitzkrieg showed excellent combat effectiveness, and bombers became one of the important means of warfare, whether it was from the scale of use, or the hard indicators such as bomb load and range. Bombing operations that have left a deep impression on the world, such as the German bombing of London, the Allies bombing of Germany, the United States bombing of the Japanese mainland, etc., the combat effectiveness of bombers has been tested in actual combat.
At the same time, it also created a large number of famous bombers, such as the British "Manchester" and "Lancaster" medium bombers, the German He-177a, "Grifor" bombers, the Soviet Tu-2 medium bombers and the American B-17, B-29 heavy bombers and so on.
The famous Tu-2 medium bomber of the Soviet Union during World War II
For aerial bombing has a major turning point in the historical significance, the United States in August 1945, has used B-29 bombers in Hiroshima, Japan and Nagasaki dropped two atomic bombs code-named "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" respectively, bombers from carrying traditional bombs began to develop to drop nuclear bombs, marking mankind into the nuclear age at the same time, for the future development of bombers have a profound impact, nuclear bombs have become the core of strategic bombers standard weapon system.
As the main means of delivery and throwing of nuclear weapons under the conditions at that time, the concept of a strategic bomber with a longer range and a larger bomb load began to be pushed onto the historical stage of modern aviation development. The so-called strategic bomber refers to the medium and long-range bomber used to perform strategic tasks, which is an important part of the strategic nuclear force of the Air Force, which can carry both nuclear and conventional bombs, and can be used as a strategic offensive weapon or perform tactical bombing missions. Representative products include the British "3v" (i.e. "Warrior", "Victor" and "Vulcan" bombers), the Soviet Tu-95 and the American B-47 and B-52.
After the war, Britain developed a bomber combination with the "3V" as the core
This was an inevitable result of the development of aviation technology and the transformation of operational needs, and it also had a lot to do with the international background at that time. At the end of World War II, the devastating strike effectiveness of the atomic bombs used by the Americans against Japan allowed all countries to see the combat effectiveness of nuclear weapons, and a nuclear arms race with the United States and the Soviet Union as the core quietly unfolded.
Based on this special historical background, the United States and the Soviet Union opened the prelude to the cold war hegemony, the United States set up a special heavy bomber committee for this purpose, and decided to immediately start developing a new generation of strategic bombers with faster cruise speed, higher ceiling, and greater combat radius. In November 1945, the U.S. Air Force put forward the main performance indicator requirements for the new strategic bomber, requiring the new bomber to have a combat radius of more than 8050 kilometers, a cruising speed of not less than 483 kilometers / h, and a bomb load of not less than 4540 kg. The new strategic bomber was mainly used to replace the B-36 bomber, with a combat radius exceeding the range of all escort fighters, and used remote control turrets to be able to form a 360-degree self-defense fire network without firing dead angles.
In the context of the Cold War, the original intention of the development of strategic bombers was to strengthen nuclear strike capabilities
In February 1946, the U.S. Air Force began bidding for a new generation of strategic bombers, with Boeing, Martin, and Cornwell bidding, submitting their own designs and cost offers. Among them, Boeing based on the B-29 bomber design proposed model 462 program, because the technology is relatively mature, while riding on the East Wind from the Soviet threat, Boeing's model 462 program was adopted by the US military, and obtained the XB-52 test type number.
After winning the bid, Boeing proposed the Model 464 series program based on the model 462 scheme optimization design, according to the specific requirements of the military, Boeing has designed more than ten programs on the basis of the Model 464 scheme, and finally the Model 464-67 scheme was selected under the synthesis of various factors. The first prototype of the B-52 was successfully flown in 1952, and after more than three years of testing, the first production B-52B began to be equipped with troops in June 1955.
Boeing's proposed Model 464-67 was eventually selected
As the first truly intercontinental strategic bomber in the United States, the aerodynamic layout of the B-52 eventually inherited the aerodynamic shape of the B-47 bomber, with wings using cantilevered upper wings, large outshoots, and a trapezoidal shape with a planar geometry between the flaps, located at 15.2 meters at the base of the wing. The b-52 adopts a slender all-metal semi-hard shell fuselage structure, with smooth sides, a rounded rectangle in section, an airtight crew compartment in the front part of the fuselage, a fuel tank in the upper part of the middle section, a bomb bay in the lower part, a tapering in the rear section, a turret at the rear, and a gun turret up to shooter's cabin, which is connected to the cockpit of the front fuselage through a passage. Under the wings were four groups of eight high-thrust turbofan engines, with fireproof silos between the two engines, and each engine equipped with a saddle-shaped fuel tank, which became the most prominent external feature of the B-52 bomber.
We all know that the B-52B was the first mass-produced version of the series of bombers, and a dramatic service scene was staged on it. At the same time as the B-52 project was advancing, emerging anti-aircraft missile technology was also rapidly advancing, becoming an important weapon system that seriously threatened the safety of traditional bombers. The B-52 also failed to escape this technical spell, and as it was about to enter service, the Soviets introduced the SA-75M (SAM-2) anti-aircraft missile. Sa-75M anti-aircraft missile is the world's first mobile anti-aircraft missile system, its effective range of 20 kilometers, the maximum firing height of 30,000 meters, the B-52 strategic bomber flight altitude is just included, viability is facing severe challenges.
The development of anti-aircraft missiles in tandem with the bombers also made the B-52 encounter an embarrassing scene at the beginning of its service
The B-52B was based on the B-52A, but it was fitted with a new J57-P-19W turbofan engine with a bomb load that was essentially the same as the A-type. B-52B and prototype b-52a is different, Boeing designers in the early days in order to reduce flight resistance, reduce the nose area, the prototype cockpit designed as a vertical, this design was strongly opposed by the U.S. Air Force, because the U.S. Air Force has long used bombers are using parallel cockpits, the U.S. Air Force is not accustomed to this longitudinal cockpit layout, and finally under the strong request of the U.S. military, Boeing had to change back to the side-by-side cockpit on the mass production aircraft B-523B.
In 1955, the B-52B mass production version, which had undergone several twists and turns, began to be installed in batches. However, with the advent of the SA-75M air defense missile, which was mature in technology at the same time, the US Air Force began a comprehensive upgrade of the B-52B in 1959 in order to improve the survivability of the B-52B, adding a large number of electronic warfare equipment to it. The improved B-52B is equipped with a range of electronic jamming equipment, including the MA-6A bombing navigation system or MD-5 fire control system, the AN/ALR-18 and An/APR-25 electronic countermeasure receivers, the An/ALT-16 electronic countermeasure transmitter, and the An/ALE-25 foil strip distributor.
The famous SA-75M air defense missile is the world's first mobile air defense missile system
In 1959, the B-52B's specific measures to improve the electronic countermeasure capability of the Soviet SA-75M air defense missile officially opened a new chapter in its 60-year modification according to actual combat needs and technological progress, and became a beautiful landscape in the development of the B-52 series.
The B-52 series strategic bomber has undergone many major improvements, of which the strengthening of electronic warfare capabilities in 1959 was only the first step, although the B-52 series has eight improved models such as a/b/c/d/e/f/g/h, but the number of equipment is relatively large, and the three models basically laid the service history of the B-52 strategic bomber.
The second major modification of the B-52 was the B-52G, which incorporated air-launched missiles. The B-52G is a majorly improved model based on the F-type, which mainly revolves around three aspects: reducing the weight of the fuselage, increasing the range and increasing the air-launched missile. Thanks to advances in aviation material technology, the weight reduction of the B-52G has been fruitful, its structural weight has been reduced by 4.5 tons compared to the f-type, the wing and vertical tail have been basically redesigned, the height of the vertical tail has been reduced by 2.31 meters, the length of the wing has also increased slightly, and the designers have also installed a missile launch pylon between the engine nacelle and the fuselage under the wing, which can carry two agm-28b "Hound" air-to-ground missiles or adm-20b "Quail" bait bombs.
B-52 tail close-up
In 1971, the U.S. Air Force made improvements to the B-52G, mainly installing the photoelectric detection system evs for low-altitude penetration defense, which is mainly composed of two parts, which is centrally installed in the turret under the two sides of the nose, the left side is the avq-22 low-light television system, and the right side is installed with the aaq-6 forward-looking infrared system. Subsequently, the inner wing pylon was improved so that it could each carry six agm-82B air-launched cruise missiles, further strengthening the aircraft's out-of-zone strike capability.
The B-52H is the latest and last improved model of the B-52 series strategic bomber, the fuselage is based on the B-52G, replaced by a thrust 75.71 kN TF-33-P-3 turbofan engine, which greatly reduces the fuel consumption of the engine, increases the range by 10%-15%, and the maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft reaches 221360 kg; compared with the previous model, Another major external improvement feature of the B-52H is that the self-defense machine gun in the tail compartment is replaced by an M-61 type 6-barrel 20mm Gatling cannon controlled by an ASG-21 fire control system, and the level of self-defense fire automation and strike efficiency are simultaneously improved.
The improved B-52 enhanced conventional strike capability
In 1978 and 1993, the B-524h was modified twice, the built-in bomb bay was modified to a rotating pylon that could attach 8 agm-86B air-launched cruise missiles, and it also had the ability to mount 16 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, synchronously integrated the GPS global satellite navigation system, strengthened the B-52h's multi-purpose capabilities and global deployment combat capabilities, and became the main aircraft of ground strikes in subsequent local wars.
According to the latest US media reports, the US Department of Defense signed a B-52 upgrade plan with a total of up to $11.9 billion, intending to upgrade the existing B-52H through a series of modernization upgrades, the period can adapt to future combat requirements, and extend the life of the final service until about 2050, there is news that the B-52 will mainly carry advanced hypersonic air-launched weapons after the upgrade.
From the background of the development of the B-52 strategic bomber, the original intention of its research and development is mainly around the Cold War US-Soviet nuclear arms race, at the same time the Soviet Union launched the Tu-95 strategic bomber, in view of the level of aviation technology development at that time, the overall development idea of the strategic bomber is to enter the jet era, with high subsonic penetration as the mainstay, the main task is also to carry and project nuclear warheads, in summarizing the defects of the lack of range of bombers during World War II, the combat radius became a hard indicator of the development of bombers in a historical period at that time. In general, in the more than ten years after the end of World War II, the main combat task of strategic bombers was to rely on large ranges and fly at high subsonic speeds to carry out long-distance strategic nuclear strike missions.
Variable swept wing technology was a mainstream design in the 1970s
With the advancement of bomber aviation technology, the variable swept wing technology matured in the 1970s, supersonic penetration became a major direction for the development of bombers for a period of time, for this reason, the United States and the Soviet Union have designed B-1B strategic bombers and Tu-160 strategic bombers, especially the Tu-160 can penetrate at a height of 20,000 meters more than Mach 2, which was a must at the time. After the advantages of the B-52 bomber's hypersonic penetration were gone, its operational application also changed, from the initial hypersonic penetration nuclear bombing to medium- and high-altitude carpet conventional bombing.
At the same time, the United States began to introduce air-launched cruise missiles into the ammunition system of the B-52 bomber, and gradually created a new model of high-subsonic penetration + air strike outside the defense zone; in the 1990s, with the maturity and popularization of precision-guided munition technology, the Americans incorporated advanced and cheap precision guidance weapons such as JDAM into the B-52 ammunition system, forming a pattern of high and low collocation with expensive air-launched cruise missiles, so that the B-52 not only maintained a certain strategic nuclear strike capability, but also doubled its conventional strike capability.
The B-52 turns on the bomber penetration mode of hypersonic + air-launched cruise missiles
With the breakthrough of the United States in stealth technology, the new generation of stealth strategic bombers represented by the B-2 has been successfully developed, and the US Air Force has created a strategic nuclear strike trio with B-52h, B-1B and B-2A as the core. In the War of Afghanistan, the B-52 re-enforced the carpet bombing method of operations, but at the same time the tactical application was innovated, and its ground strikes were accurately positioned and reported by ground special forces, and the strike effectiveness was doubled.
Since the B-52 strategic bomber entered service in the 1950s, the US Air Force has been constantly adjusting and improving according to the actual combat needs and technological progress, and has applied a large number of new operational concepts and new technologies to the improvement work, which not only reflects the development and change of military aviation technology, but also witnesses the whole process of the development of strategic bombers after World War II.
The B-2 stealth bomber had obvious technical advantages, but the cost eventually made it 20
Although the United States firmly occupies the commanding heights of technology in the field of bomber research and development (after all, the only one currently equipped with stealth bombers is the United States), compared with the B-2 stealth bomber, the technical level of the B-52h is indeed difficult to be elegant, but although the B-2 is good, its cost has become the fundamental reason for restricting the large number of purchases of the US military, and the unit price of 2.4 billion US dollars makes the B-2 a flying gold aircraft. In addition, in the use of combat, stealth technology certainly has the advantage of high penetration, but in terms of conventional strikes, the cost performance of its use is not at all in the same grade compared with the old B-52h.
With the progress of science and technology, in the traditional trinity nuclear strike system composed of land-based intercontinental missiles, air-based strategic bombers and sea-based strategic nuclear submarines, the advantages of strategic bombers as the main means of delivery and throwing of nuclear weapons have ceased to exist, and strategic nuclear submarines and land-based intercontinental missiles as rising stars are considered to have better use effects. More missions of strategic bombers return to the traditional ground strike capability, and among the three musketeers of the US strategic bombers, the B-1B and B-52h are invariably more used in conventional strike missions, which is a good illustration of this problem.
The B-52 tests air-launched hypersonic weapon systems
From the beginning in order to cope with the threat of soviet SA-75M air defense missiles, the B-52 strategic bomber has opened up a continuous improvement and upgrading around the actual combat needs and scientific and technological progress, through the application of new technologies, so that the old platform is revitalized, the United States in the process of improving the B-52, fully exert its scientific and technological advantages in the field of aviation technology, out of a completely different path of development, in the continuous improvement, the B-52 is constantly shortening the gap in technology with the international mainstream bomber It gives prominence to the conventional strike advantage of the B-52 and becomes the backbone of the US military's ground strike.
In the future, the improvement and upgrading of the B-52 will continue, after all, according to the assumptions of the US Air Force, the B-52H still needs to serve for 30 years, in the context of the rapid development of the level of science and technology, the improved and upgraded B-52 will appear more on the conventional strike battlefield in the future, as a type of ground support strike mission, it is not excluded that the future will also integrate such as hypersonic weapons, high-energy new concept weapons. Since the American B-52 can serve for 100 years, then our H-6 service for another few decades is not a bad thing, to maximize the combat potential of old equipment, itself is also a way to enhance combat effectiveness.