posted on Feb, 20 2006 @ 04:33 PM
Originally posted by emile
Wow, you're so passionate, this artcal you writen is really complete and detailed. thank you very much!! You must be a professor who are teach in
militery college
Afraid not.
While his first two points are highly valid, from there his post decends into a difficult if not incoherent ramble of industry forces and alternate
yet unrelated proposals.
Even so, That there are signifigant limitations to the continued usefulness of the B-52 is inescapable. Long range radars, distributed SAM batteries,
parts inventories, and plain old airframe fatigue are all factors that will eventually seal the BUFF into obsolesence. Meanwhile, it still has the
largest (if not heaviest) payload of any US bomber, and I believe the lowest operating cost per munition. As that cost rises, due to the factors
above, the B-52 will be less and less desireable as a combat aircraft. The ultimate questions become "How much does it cost to blow
someone/something up?" and "can we do it before they get away?"