The new engine pod covers, worth 1.2 million USD, will assist in preventing damage to the B-52 engines.
Pilots and maintainers at Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) now have new engine covers designed to stop ice buildup in freezing temperatures, thanks to help from STRIKEWERX, an innovation arm of the AFGSC Office of the Chief Scientist that connects people and resources across government, industry and academia to solve Air Force Global Strike Command’s most difficult problems.
Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota received $1.2 million from the Air Force Operational Energy Savings Account to buy special engine pod covers for their B-52 Stratofortress fleet. These covers are meant to prevent ice from forming, which can cause engine damage, delay takeoffs, and require hours of de-icing work from Airmen.
Over the last two years, 10 engines were damaged by ice, said Master Sgt. Adam Vasas, AFGSC project champion.
“We found 10 engines were damaged across 2021-2023 due to ice debris, which resulted in $17 million in damages and 160-plus manhours lost.”
STRIKEWERX, AFGSC/ST’s innovation hub, sourced and tested 12 Transhield Pod Covers. These heavy-duty, weather-resistant covers completely seal the engines, blocking ice from forming in ducts, inlets, or exhausts. They’re easy to put on and take off and can even be used to heat engines manually if needed.
“With these covers, maintainers can work more effectively in extreme cold, freeing up resources and personnel for other tasks,” Vasas said.
The funding will cover the entire B-52 fleet at Minot AFB saving around 7,500 hours of labor and provide significant cost savings over time.
The push to protect engines from icing originally began during a Design Sprint hosted by STRIKEWERX at the Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) in Bossier City, Louisiana, back in July 2022. The CIC in Bossier City, Louisiana, is part of the 3,000-acre National Cyber Research Park. As a nonprofit organization, the CIC drives technology growth and workforce development in the region, supporting government, industry, and academic initiatives.
A prototype based on an earlier design was built in October 2022 to provide heat to the engine cowling, but testing at Minot showed it didn’t meet the maintainers’ needs. This prompted Vasas and other experts to explore better options, eventually landing on the Transhield Pod Covers for further evaluation.
The official news release does not specify it, therefore it’s not clear whether the new covers will also be compatible with the new engines that will equip the upgraded B-52 Stratofortress bomber, that will be similar, although larger than the current ones.
B-52J and its new engines
As we have reported here at The Aviationist, the bomber’s current Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-103s, used since the 1960s, will no longer be supportable beyond 2030, so the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program was kicked off in 2018, with GE Aviation, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce competing for the contract. The winning offer from Rolls-Royce is the military version of the BR725 engine used by the Gulfstream G650 business jet and already powering both the C-37 and E-11 BACN in service with the U.S. Air Force.
Rolls-Royce announced it launched F130 engine testing on Mar. 1, 2023. The RR F130 engines were selected in 2021 to replace the bomber’s Pratt & Whitney TF33-PW-103s, used on the Stratofortress fleet since the 1960s.
As happend with the B-52G, when new engines were the main reason the B-52G was redesignated as B-52H in 1962, with the new F130 engines, the Stratofortress will be given the designation B-52J.
The Air Force plans to finalize integration activities and deliver the first lot of B-52Js in the 2026-2027 timeframe, with initial operational capability expected in 2030. The new engines are expected to remain on the B-52 through at least 2050, increase fuel efficiency, increase range, reduce emissions in unburned hydrocarbons, and significantly reduce maintenance costs.
While their overall shape is still the same, the new nacelles of the F130 engine are bigger than the original ones, while the new struts are shorter and get the nacelles closer to the wing. The new nacelles will be supplied by Spirit AeroSystems, which was awarded a contract from Boeing in 2023 to provide both struts and nacelles for the CERP program. The new nacelles will benefit from the experience of one of the world’s largest suppliers of struts and nacelles, incorporating the latest advancements in this sector.
Some observers wondered why the U.S. Air Force didn’t go with four bigger turbofans instead of sticking with eight smaller ones. The main issues with that idea were that it would have left less clearance during takeoff and required a major overhaul of the engine, wing, and pylon setup, making the upgrade more complicated and risky.
Anyway, the new F130 engines are a big step up from the old TF-33s. They’ll be way quieter and barely produce any smoke, meaning the B-52J won’t have that long, dark smoky trail everyone’s used to seeing behind the classic bomber.
