USAF wants to upgrade the B-52H’s external wing pylon

The current external wing pylon on the B-52H bomber can only carry weapons up to 5,000 lbs. The U.S. Air Force is seeking a new external weapons pylon that can carry up to 20,000 lbs of weapons.

Team Minot Airmen load munitions on to a B-52H Stratofortress assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., Oct 31, 2017, during exercise Global Thunder 18. Exercise Global Thunder is an annual command and control and field training exercise designed to train Department of Defense forces and assess joint operational readiness across all of USSTRATCOM’s mission areas, with a specific focus on nuclear readiness. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman J.T. Armstrong)

“The current Improved Common Pylon (ICP) … was designed in 1959 and has been in service since the 1960s. When it was introduced, there wasn’t a requirement nor did anyone foresee a need to carry weapons heavier than 5,000 lb,” the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) said in a request for information (RFI) issued on Jun. 21.

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