On Monday, May 4, 2026, the press service of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) of the USAF’s Air Force Materiel Command announced that the new Rolls-Royce F130 turbofan engines for the upgraded B-52J Stratofortress strategic bombers, under the Commercial Engine Replacement Program (CERP), had recently completed a Critical Design Review (CDR).
B-52-adapted F130 engines in a twin-pod configuration on a test stand in 2023 / Photo: Rolls-Royce Holdings plc
CDR is a comprehensive technical assessment in which independent experts from the Air Force, Boeing, and Rolls-Royce analyze the entire system design to ensure that it meets all technical and operational requirements for the project before major integration work begins.
“This CERP critical design review is the culmination of an enormous amount of engineering and integration work from Boeing, Rolls Royce, and the Air Force that will enable the B-52J to remain in the fight for future generations,” said Lt. Col. Tim Cleaver, Bombers Directorate CERP Program Manager. He described the CDR as a pivotal moment for the program. “It’s that point that you go from having a concept turned into a design, to then turning that design into something physical—something that we will test and field for Air Force Global Strike Command,” Cleaver stated.
After the CDR was finalized, the program is moving quickly toward aircraft modification. Boeing, the prime integration contractor, is handling parts procurement and production and will begin modifying the first two B-52H aircraft to the B-52J configuration at its facilities in San Antonio, Texas. The first bomber is expected to enter modification later this year.
The modernization work focuses on replacing the TF33-PW-103 turbofan engines, also known as Pratt & Whitney JT3D, which have been in production since 1985, with fuel-efficient F130 engines, a BR700 variant, produced by Rolls-Royce. The modernization also includes new subsystems, such as a modern generator for each engine, which will significantly increase electrical power to support future capabilities.
The review marks the culmination of years of design work and a series of tests between the Air Force and its industry partners, aimed at ensuring that all issues had been resolved before the formal review. According to Cleaver, this collaborative process was essential to avoid surprises and ensure the greatest possible robustness of the design.
After this initial work, the two modified B-52J test aircraft will undergo extensive testing at Edwards Air Force Base in California to verify the new systems. Once testing is complete, the program will move toward modifying the remainder of the B-52H fleet.
Image: Boeing
F130 engine testing began in the first quarter of 2023. Under a contract awarded on September 24, 2021, worth 500.87 million USD, with an option to increase its value to 2.6 billion USD, the company will deliver 608 F130 engines for 76 B-52H aircraft. The F130 engines will be manufactured, assembled, and tested at Rolls-Royce Corp.’s facilities in Indianapolis, the company’s largest production site in the United States.
More than 3,700 engines from this family, commercially designated BR700, have been built to date. They power a number of civil aircraft, including the Bombardier Global Express, Boeing 717, and Gulfstream V, as well as military aircraft, including the C-37A/B and E-11A BACN. In the case of the USAF, this will simplify spare parts supply chains and the maintenance process. In line with the USAF’s operational requirements, the new powerplants are to provide between 400 and 500 kVA of electrical power to supply the electronic engine management system and other, as yet unspecified, avionics components.
The engine replacement is only one element of the broad modernization of the U.S. B-52H strategic bomber fleet to the B-52J standard. On December 11, 2025, the first bomber integrated with the new Raytheon AN/APQ-188 radar with an active electronically scanned array, or AESA, was transferred from the aforementioned Boeing facilities in San Antonio to Edwards Air Force Base under the B-52 Radar Modernization Program, or RMP.
Two fairings will be installed above the wings, likely for GPS transmitters and other classified communications and navigation equipment. A partial replacement of analog indicators with digital displays is expected, creating a hybrid cockpit that will reduce crew workload and facilitate the integration of additional systems. Other expected upgrades include the installation of a diagnostic system for all onboard systems, modernization of electronic warfare systems, the use of Link 16-class data exchange systems, and increased avionics resistance to jamming, as well as improved localization of threat sources. It is possible that, during the work, AN/AAQ-33 Sniper ATP targeting pods will be moved from under the right wing to under the fuselage, which would expand their field of view. The installation of additional electro-optical sensors to increase day and night observation capabilities is also being considered.
The aircraft will also be integrated with future Raytheon AGM-181 LRSO, or Long-Range Stand-Off, long-range cruise missiles, which will carry nuclear warheads and feature a reduced radar cross-section. The aircraft are expected to carry up to 20 missiles at a time. Some time ago, spotters observed B-52H tests with new armament, possibly the LRSO.
It is expected that at least part of the planned fleet of 76 B-52H aircraft will be modernized to the B-52J standard by the end of the current decade, so that the aircraft can remain in service at least into the 2050s, in line with the Bomber Vector plans disclosed in February 2018.
The B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program held its Critical Design Review. This milestone enables the program to move closer to modernization of #B52 aircraft with fuel-efficient engines and advanced systems into the 2050s.
Learn more: https://t.co/VdjdDLZXI1 pic.twitter.com/xHwp0OtuG7
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) May 4, 2026