B-52s - Keep 'em flyin' another 30+ years

[Osmium Steele]

What could a single Buff with a payload of JSOWs do to an armored division? (the JSOW/B would have been devastating in this role)

The B-52, as a bomber, still has a nuclear mission in combination with the Air Launched Cruise Missile, said Maj. Gen. William Chambers, the Air Staff strategic deterrence and nuclear integration officer. The continued upgrade of the B-52s electronics and the effort we have underway for a new cruise missile are both examples of where we're taking very old systems and making them last longer.

The planned upgrades total three:

The CONECT program will put a digital backbone and communications suite into the largely analog aircraft.

A new 1760 databus architecture will allow the old bird to drop modern smart weapons from its internal weapon bays.

Strategic radar will replace the B-52's antiquated 1960s-vintage system.

SOURCE