The new B-52: How the Air Force is prepping to fly century-old bombers
By Stephen Losey
Monday, Feb 12
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. — As it idled on the flight line here, a B-52H Stratofortress known as the Red Gremlin II looked much the same as it did in the 1960s.
But the U.S. Air Force’s B-52 bomber fleet is showing its age, and the Red Gremlin II is no exception.
On a crisp, clear morning in January, its five-person aircrew from the 11th Bomb Squadron ran through preflight checks for a training mission, tallying up what was broken and how serious the problems were.
Instructor pilot Lt. Col. Michael DeVita’s digital display — a relatively recent system known as the Combat Network Communications Technology, or CONECT — wasn’t working. The radar altimeter was down. And the targeting pod display, needed for a key element of the planned simulated bombing, was on the fritz. At one point, DeVita, the squadron commander, leaned over and gave a stubborn dial three solid taps to unstick it.
https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/02/12/the-new-b-52-how-the-air-force-is-prepping-to-fly-century-old-bombers/
