B-52 Re-Engining Program Begins
Updated September 27, 2021
On September 24, 2021, the U.S. Air Force awarded a contract to Rolls-Royce, Indianapolis, IN, for 608
new engines to replace the TF33 engines powering the B-52H Stratofortress bomber fleet, in a contract
running up to 17 years. The initial contract is for $500.9 million, but with spare engines, technical data,
support equipment, and sustainment, the contract could ultimately be worth $2.6 billion, and may include
650 engines. Rolls-Royce has 18 months to deliver initial engines.
The Air Force currently operates 76 B-52Hs, the most recent of which was built in the 1960s. The Air
Force now expects to operate them until 2050. The last TF33 engine was built in 1985. (For more on the
B-52 fleet, see CRS Report R43049, U.S. Air Force Bomber Sustainment and Modernization: Background
and Issues for Congress.)
Figure 1. Engine Mounting on B-52
Source: U.S. Air Force
This re-engining effort (officially the Commercial Engine Replacement Program, or CERP) had been in
the works for some time, as the Air Force had announced its plans to extend the B-52s’ service into at
least the 2040s, and had held an industry day on December 12, 2017, to share information and solicit
vendors for the program. Boeing, the B-52 prime contractor, even produced an animated video touting the
benefits of re-engining.
