U.S. Air Force To Fly B-1B Lancer And B-2 Spirit Well Into Late 2030s

BusinessAerospace & DefenseU.S. Air Force To Fly B-1B Lancer And B-2 Spirit Well Into Late 2030sByPeter Suciu,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Peter Suciu covers trends in the world of aerospace and defense.Follow AuthorApr 27, 2026, 07:27pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber proceeds to an undisclosed location after completing a mission over Iraq March 27, 2003. (Photo by Cherie A. Thurlby/U.S. Air Force/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe United States Air Force has no plans to retire its remaining fleet of Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers for at least a couple more decades, and the old "BUFFs" as they are known, will be in service until the late 2040s or early 2050s, perhaps even longer. However, even as the Air Force will adopt the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raiders in the coming year, the B-52s won't be the only old workhorses that will remain in the bomber fleet.The Air Force is now planning to invest up to $1.7 billion to modernize its Rockwell B-1B Lancer and Northrop B-2 Spirit bombers by the early 2030s.That is a course correction for the U.S. Air Force, which had previously called for retiring both the Lancers and Spirits as the Raiders entered service. Operation Epic Fury's air campaign against Iran highlighted that both aircraft remain capable combat aircraft, with the B-2s having flown CONUS-to-CONUS missions from the United States, spending 37 hours or more in the air, and the B-1B Lancers and B-52 Stratofortresses hitting the Islamic Republic from bases in the UK.Keeping The Bombers Flying Is ExpensiveThe U.S. Air Force has, for years, sought to retire aging aircraft to free up funding for the acquisition of new fighters and bombers. Now it is finding the old warbirds have some fight left in them. That was certainly the case with the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, whic...