B-52 Heavy Bomber
DESCRIPTION: The B-52 "Stratofortress" has been a mainstay of the U.S. Air Force heavy bomber fleet since 1961. (It first flew in the 1950s.)
The huge eight-engine bomber is capable of carrying a large load of conventional bombs under its wings. The B-52s were used for carpet bombing of Iraqi troop concentrations and Republican Guard units during the Gulf War, flying 1,600 missions and dropping 25,700 tons or ordnance.
ANYTHING NEW?The B-52s were used in the last strike against Iraq in September 1996, but to launch cruise missiles, not drop bombs.
There are eight U.S. B-52s at the British base in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Sources say the B-52s would be used again only for delivery of air-launched cruise missiles.
America's High- Tech Weaponry
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