Post by Admin on May 20, 2020 20:56:09 GMT -5
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USAF Releases B-52 Engine Replacement RFP, Award Expected July 2021
May 20, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak
The Air Force on May 19 issued its request for proposals on the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, calling for responses by July and a contract award expected in June 2021.
GE Aviation, Raytheon Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney unit, and Rolls-Royce have all said they will compete.
The service, in the RFP, confirmed it wants to buy a total of 608 engines to equip 76 B-52s, each of which mounts eight engines arrayed two each in four nacelles. For prototyping purposes, USAF will start with 20 engines—16 for two aircraft plus four spares. The first contract will be indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, with production models delivered through 2037. The B-52 is slated to remain in service through 2050.
The program office assesses “significant risk” in “integrating current technology commercial engines on the 1950s-era B-52 aircraft technology,” according to justification documents. The heavily-redacted documents conclude that GE, Pratt, and Rolls are likely to be able to meet service requirements. Two other companies—their names redacted in the documents—“did not submit a viable solution” for the requirement.
The Air Force wants fuel efficiency savings of about 30 percent on the new powerplants versus the in-use Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines, and reliability such that the engines never have to come off the B-52 for service during the bomber’s remaining lifetime. This in turn will sharply diminish or eliminate the need to stockpile large quantities of parts, resulting in further savings. The Air Force has said that it expects fuel savings will pay for the cost of the re-engining program, which would also drive a reduction in maintainers assigned to the airplane. With the fuel efficiency, USAF is also looking for an increase in persistence or range of up to 40 percent.
Cotinues,,
USAF Releases B-52 Engine Replacement RFP, Award Expected July 2021
May 20, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak
The Air Force on May 19 issued its request for proposals on the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, calling for responses by July and a contract award expected in June 2021.
GE Aviation, Raytheon Technologies’ Pratt & Whitney unit, and Rolls-Royce have all said they will compete.
The service, in the RFP, confirmed it wants to buy a total of 608 engines to equip 76 B-52s, each of which mounts eight engines arrayed two each in four nacelles. For prototyping purposes, USAF will start with 20 engines—16 for two aircraft plus four spares. The first contract will be indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity, with production models delivered through 2037. The B-52 is slated to remain in service through 2050.
The program office assesses “significant risk” in “integrating current technology commercial engines on the 1950s-era B-52 aircraft technology,” according to justification documents. The heavily-redacted documents conclude that GE, Pratt, and Rolls are likely to be able to meet service requirements. Two other companies—their names redacted in the documents—“did not submit a viable solution” for the requirement.
The Air Force wants fuel efficiency savings of about 30 percent on the new powerplants versus the in-use Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines, and reliability such that the engines never have to come off the B-52 for service during the bomber’s remaining lifetime. This in turn will sharply diminish or eliminate the need to stockpile large quantities of parts, resulting in further savings. The Air Force has said that it expects fuel savings will pay for the cost of the re-engining program, which would also drive a reduction in maintainers assigned to the airplane. With the fuel efficiency, USAF is also looking for an increase in persistence or range of up to 40 percent.
Cotinues,,