10-04-2021, 08:15 PM
Lew Zealand wrote:
I hope this doesn't go off the rails, but...
Does this happen because the only time there's sufficient willpower to make those time and money investments on a replacement are during wartime or the looming threat of the same? Or are heavy bombers merely so niche (even in wartime) that there's very little use for a new design when compared to that development cost?
The use case for "non-stealthy" heavy bombers has shrunk considerably in the last 50 years. But, when you need that capability and don't care if it's stealthy (because you've already destroyed everything that has a radar), you need it.
Even with upgrades, the B-52 is cheap to operate, unlike the B-1B that can carry more bombs than the B-52.
The B-52 is going to go down in history with the DC-3, and the 1911 pistol... in it's niche, there's just nothing better. Eventually, the niche goes away, and they stop being used... but as long as there's that niche - they're in service.