B-52 Stratofortress (Wallpaper 4) aircraft photo gallery | AirSkyBuster

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B-52 Stratofortress (wallpaper 4). B-52 Stratofortress aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. B-52 Stratofortress airplane pictures and images collection 4. Bomber Aircraft. Boeing B-52 Stratofortress. When the B-52 entered into service, the Strategic Air Command (SAC) intended for it to be used to deter and counteract the vast and modernizing Soviet military. As the Soviet Union increased its nuclear capabilities, destroying or "countering" the forces that would deliver nuclear strikes (bombers, missiles, etc.) became of great strategic importance. The Eisenhower administration endorsed this switch in focus; the President in 1954 expressing a preference for military targets over those of civilian ones, a principle reinforced in the Single Integrated Operation Plan (SIOP), a plan of action in the case of nuclear war breaking out. Throughout the Cold War, B-52s performed airborne alert patrols under code names such as Head Start, Chrome Dome, Hard Head, Round Robin, and Giant Lance. Bombers loitered at high altitude near points outside the Soviet Union to provide rapid first strike or retaliation capability in case of nuclear war. This was a part of the role of deterrence to the Soviet Union via the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction. Even while the Air Force works on its Next-Generation Bomber and 2037 Bomber projects, it intends to keep the B-52H in service until at least 2040, 78 years after production ended, 85 years after it entered service. B-52 Stratofortress (wallpaper 4). B-52 Stratofortress aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. B-52 Stratofortress airplane pictures and images collection 4. This will be an unprecedented length of service for a military aircraft. B-52s are periodically refurbished at USAF maintenance depots such as Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The USAF continues to rely on the B-52 because it remains an effective and economical heavy bomber, particularly in the type of missions that have been conducted since the end of the Cold War against nations that have limited air defense capabilities. The B-52 has the capacity to "loiter" for extended periods over (or even well outside) the battlefield, and deliver precision standoff and direct fire munitions. It has been a valuable asset in supporting ground operations during conflicts such as Operation Iraqi Freedom. The speed of the B-1 Lancer and the stealth of the B-2 Spirit have only been useful until enemy air defenses were destroyed, a task that has been swiftly achieved in recent conflicts. The B-52 boasts the highest mission capable rate of the three types of heavy bombers operated by the USAF. Whereas the B-1 averages a 53% ready rate, and the B-2 achieved 26%, the B-52 averages 80% as of 2001. Additionally, a proposed variant of the B-52H was the EB-52. This version would have modified and augmented 16 B-52H airframes with additional electronic jamming capabilities. This new aircraft would have given the USAF an airborne jamming capability that it has lacked since retiring the EF-111 Raven. The program was canceled in 2005 following removal of funding for the stand-off jammer. The program was revived in 2007 but funding was again cut in early 2009. B-52 Stratofortress (wallpaper 4). B-52 Stratofortress aircraft images wallpaper gallery 4. B-52 Stratofortress airplane pictures and images collection 4.