By Alimat Aliyeva

The US Department of Defense will improve the B-52 Stratofortress bombers of the 1960s by replacing engines and installing new radars. The cost of the program may reach $15 billion, Azernews reports.

According to him, in the Air Force (Air Force) The United States wants to extend the life of the B-52 for another "three decades." According to representatives of the US Air Force, the cost of the program to install new Rolls-Royce F130 engines to replace the old Pratt & Whitney TF33 and radars of the American company Raytheon exceeds "billions of dollars".

"According to recent estimates, the expenditure part of the B-52 engine replacement program has increased to $ 15 billion, which is $2.5 billion more than the initial cost," the portal quotes Brian Knight, deputy one of the program managers. He added that the US Air Force continues to clarify the final cost of the project. According to him, during the work, specialists will have to install not only new engines, but also improve the cockpit, displays and other systems.

As Brigadier General Eric Quigley explained, as part of the Defense Ministry program, the engine air intake also had to be redesigned, which led to new delays. "Despite rising costs and falling behind schedule, the Air Force has no choice but to modernize the B-52 fleet," the military said, calling the program a "win-win option" for the U.S. Air Force.