B-52 Stratofortress

— -- This is the primary U.S. manned strategic bomber. The B-52 carries a crew of five, costs $30 million, and can fly as high as 50,000 feet, with a range of 8,800 miles. The B-52 can carry 70,000 lbs. of nuclear or conventional bombs, mines, and missiles.

Primary Function: Heavy bomber

Contractor: Boeing Military Airplane Co.

Power plant: Eight Pratt & Whitney engines TF33-P-3/103 turbofan

Thrust: Each engine up to 17,000 pounds

Length: 159 feet, 4 inches (48.5 meters)

Height: 40 feet, 8 inches (12.4 meters)

Wingspan: 185 feet (56.4 meters)

Speed: 650 miles per hour (Mach 0.86)

Ceiling: 50,000 feet (15,151.5 meters)

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Weight: Approximately 185,000 pounds empty (83,250 kilograms)

Maximum Takeoff Weight: 488,000 pounds (219,600 kilograms)

Range: Unrefueled 8,800 miles (7,652 nautical miles)

Armament: Approximately 70,000 pounds (31,500 kilograms) mixed ordnance, including gravity bombs, smart weapons like the satellite-guided Joint Direct Attack Munition and the Joint Standoff weapon, mines, and air-launched cruise missiles, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and Have Nap standoff missiles.

Crew: Five (aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer)

Accommodations: Six ejection seats

Unit Cost: $30 million

Date Deployed: February 1955

Inventory: Active force, 85; ANG, 0; Reserve, 9

Data courtesy of www.defenselink.org.