Boeing B-52J Stratofortress
The re-engined, AESA-radar B-52H conversion meant to carry the bomber past its centenary · Engines selected 2021 · Initial capability planned 2033
The B-52J is the designation for B-52Hs modernised under the Commercial Engine Replacement Program. After proposals from General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce, the US Air Force selected the Rolls-Royce F130 — a military version of the BR725 — on 24 September 2021, ordering 650 engines (608 direct replacements and 42 spares) for US$2.6 billion. Unlike earlier re-engining studies that would have cut the bomber to four engines, the programme keeps eight. Each F130 gives about 17,000 lbf (75.6 kN), similar to the TF33, but the change is expected to improve fuel efficiency by about 30 percent.
The engine swap comes with new pylons, digital engine controls and new communications and navigation equipment. The nose gets the Raytheon AN/APQ-188 active electronically scanned array radar, a variant of the F/A-18E/F's AN/APG-79, in place of the mechanically scanned AN/APQ-166, and the blisters of the old electro-optical viewing system are removed. Raytheon was selected for the radar in 2019.
In February 2026 Rolls-Royce completed altitude and operability testing of the F130 at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex in Tennessee, having also run twin-pod tests in the B-52's paired-engine layout at NASA's Stennis Space Center. As of late 2026 no B-52J had flown: the first flight-test engines were being assembled in Indianapolis, with deliveries planned from 2027 for the modification of test aircraft, and initial operational capability is planned for 2033. The photos for this entry therefore show B-52Hs, the aircraft that will be converted.
