Commercial Engine Replacement Program

B-52J Engine Upgrade Set to Outpace Jets Built Decades Later

When the United States Air Force replaces the Boeing B-52's eight engines under the Commercial Engine Replacement Program, the resulting aircraft, the B-52J, will have 30% better fuel efficiency, a meaningfully extended unrefueled range, and a maintenance burden so reduced that it will cost significantly less per flight hour to operate than the Rockwell B-1 Lancer . The B-1B entered service in 1986, thirty-four years after the B-52 first flew. It was specifically designed to replace the Stratofortress. It is now being retired while the B-52 flies on, and the F-130-powered B-52J will still be flying in the 2050s after the B-1B is long gone. That inversion is entirely the product of one engine swap.