The American B-52 bomber will receive a new cruise nuclear missile.

The cost of a contract to develop a new cruise missile for the US military is estimated at 250 million dollars. It is designed for the strategic bomber B-52.

The US Department of Defense clarified that this is about the development and modification of missile and aviation equipment to accommodate a promising cruise missile that has a longer range of flight (KRBD - LRSO - ed.). The contract provides for system design, testing, software development, personnel training, logistics and transportation support. That is, we are talking about the full integration of LRSO on B-52H. It is assumed that the work will be completed by December 31 2024 of the year, in this case, the strategic bombers of the US Air Force with new missiles are expected to be placed near the Russian borders.

In the United States of America, the LRSO is evaluated as a fundamentally new weapon system. A prospective nuclear missile is designed to destroy targets that cannot be destroyed using an intercontinental ballistic missile or a warhead launched from a submarine.

The B-52 strategic bomber is not capable of overcoming the echeloned air defense system. Not having a new weapon, he will lose his role. Previous AGM-86 cruise missiles will not be able to respond to requests that arise in the future.

This may happen even before the promising B-21 strategic bomber is adopted. Without replacing missiles, the B-52, according to experts, will lose its role by the end of the 2020s, but it must be borne in mind that they intend to use this aircraft until the 2040s.

According to forecasts, the newest cruise missile should be put into service before the 2030 year. It must have a range of at least 3 - 3,5 thousands of kilometers. The accuracy of the hit should not exceed 3 - 5 meters. The launch of the rocket must be carried out from a distance inaccessible to the enemy’s air defense weapons. The AGM-86 rocket, the forerunner of a promising product, is in service with the United States in 1986 of the year.

On March 15, B-52 was spotted over the Baltic Sea, near the Russian border. As stated in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the aircraft was at least 150 kilometers from Russia.