Report: B-52 Modernization Program Faces Key Hurdles

Efforts to keep the U.S. Air Force bombers flying into the 2050s are running into cost and schedule concerns.

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, August 05, 2026 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

A B-52H Stratofortress, assigned to the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, taxis on the flight line at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in 2024. [Credit: U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Air Force's extensive B-52 modernization effort, aimed at extending the bomber's service into the 2050s, faces significant challenges, with 10 out of 13 programs experiencing cost overruns, schedule delays, or performance issues.
The two most critical and expensive components, the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP) and the Radar Modernization Program (RMP), account for 88% of the $21 billion budget and are plagued by substantial cost increases (up to 38%), multi-year delays, and reduced performance expectations.
These pervasive issues, highlighted by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), jeopardize the B-52's future operational readiness and its continued role as a vital asset, with GAO recommending better risk assessment and utilization of digital engineering.

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The U.S. Air Force faces cost overruns, schedule delays, or performance issues for the majority of its 13 programs aimed at modernizing the B-52 bomber, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Researchers found that 10 projects face at least one of these issues, including those aimed at upgrading the B-52’s engines and radar, which are contending with all three. According to GAO, the engine and radar efforts have an estimated price tag of $18 million, or about 88 percent of the $21 billion the Air Force is spending on modernization. They are also the most time-intensive aspects of the program, it said.