Will the U.S. Air Force Retire its Ageing B-52 Bombers to Finance a Larger B-21 Stealth Fleet?

U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff General David Allvin on May 20 informed the Senate Armed Services Committee that issues with the <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/b52-upgrade-cost-overruns-cuts" target="_blank">B-52J bomber program</a> could force the service to abandon it, and instead reallocate funds to procuring more <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/industry-increase-output-b21-larger-fleet" target="_blank">B-21 Raider stealth bombers</a>. If the B-52 modernisation program “goes worse than we hope, then we would need more” funds for B-21s, Allvin&nbsp;stated, adding that he would “take all I can get with the funding,” for the stealth bomber program. The B-21 provided an “incredible capability,” he added, highlighting that the program has gone “pretty well” so far in flight testing. “The 100 minimum is certainly something we can stand behind,” he stated regarding the number of new stealth bombers currently planned.&nbsp; “When we look at what the maximum is, I really want to look at the risk over time, and opportunities over time.” Calls to <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/usaf-200-b21s-expansion-fleet" target="_blank">expand B-21 production </a>to 145 or even 200 aircraft have been made by multiple sources in the past, although the viability of stealthy penetration bombers against new generations of fast improving air defences has also been increasingly brought into question. &nbsp;<img src="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/m/articles/2025/05/22/article_682e791ca40400_43654567.jpeg" title="U.S. Air Force B-52H Bombers">The Air Force previously planned to field the B-52J and B-21 in a complementary pairing, while phasing out its <a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/u-s-bomber-fleet-may-shrink-temporarily-as-troubled-b-1b-lancer-faces-likely-early-retirement" target="_blank">troubled</a> B-1B and B-2 bombers by the mid-2030s. Setbacks undermining efforts to modernise the B-52, however, have raised the possibility of the service abandoning the program and instead procuring larger numbers of B-21s. The B-52J was expected to be able to carry more ordinance, have a longer range, and have much lower operational costs than the B-21, although lacking the newer aircraft’s advanced stealth capabilities. This would allow B-52s to be relied on for cruise missile and ballistic missile strikes from safer distances, while B-21s launch penetration strikes with gravity bombs. Efforts to bring the B-52 fleet up to the B-52J standard, however, have faced multi-billion dollar cost overruns, which has for years fuelled speculation that the Air Force will be forced to&nbsp;<a href="https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/sentinel-icbm-b52j-uncertain-future" >make deep cuts</a>&nbsp;to the program. The program was intended to comprehensively modernise the B-52, including interring a new AN/APQ-188 active electronically scanned array radar, eight Rolls-Royce F130 engines, and an almost entirely new suite of avionics.&nbsp;