Boeing B-52H Stratofortress
TF33 turbofans and decades of upgrades — the only B-52 still flying · First flight 1961 · In service 1961
The B-52H kept the airframe, crew layout and wet wing of the G but switched to Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-3 turbofans, which — once early reliability problems were fixed under the Hot Fan programme by 1964 — gave considerably better performance and fuel economy than the J57 turbojets. The defensive armament changed from four machine guns to a 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon, and the avionics, countermeasures and fire-control system were updated. Built at Wichita, the H entered service on 9 May 1961; 102 were built, and the last, 61-0040, left the factory on 26 October 1962.
The H has been continuously upgraded: electro-optical viewing sensors in chin blisters in the 1970s, the AGM-86 cruise missile (82 Hs gained a bomb-bay rotary launcher for eight more), and later precision conventional weapons and targeting pods. The tail-gunner position was eliminated from 1 October 1991. Hs fought over Yugoslavia in 1999, launched at least 100 AGM-86C cruise missiles on the first night of the 2003 Iraq War, and supported operations in Afghanistan. NASA also borrowed 61-0025 to replace its veteran NB-52B launch aircraft.
Since the mid-1990s the B-52H has been the only variant in military service, flown by the 2nd and 5th Bomb Wings and the reserve 307th Bomb Wing; in 2024 the US Air Force counted 76 aircraft. Two airframes, "Ghost Rider" (61-0007) in 2015 and "Wise Guy" (60-0034) in 2019, were even returned to service from long-term storage in Arizona. The fleet is planned to be converted to B-52J standard and to serve into the 2050s.
