B-52 bomber

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Report: US May Put B-52s on 24-Hour Nuclear Alert

Jets armed with nukes would be ready to go at a moment's notice, if order goes through

(Newser) - The security site Defense One reports that the Air Force is considering putting nuclear-armed bomber planes back on 24-hour notice, something that hasn't been in effect since the Cold War. The site emphasizes that no such order has yet been given, but it quotes Air Force chief of staff...

Message to Kim: US Sends Bomber on Korean Fly-By

Show of force in wake of alleged H-bomb test

(Newser) - A powerful US B-52 bomber flew low over South Korea on Sunday, a clear show of force from the United States as a Cold War-style standoff deepened between its ally Seoul and North Korea following Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test. North Korea will read the fly-over of a bomber capable...

US Fleet Relies on Your Grandfather's Bomber

The B-52 was supposed to be scrapped in the '70s, will likely serve into the '40s

(Newser) - In 1966, The New York Times reported that nation’s fleet of long-range B-52 Stratofortress bombers—first introduced in the 1950s—would "be too old" and need to be grounded within nine years. Nearly a half-century later, the New York Times says the B-52 will likely continue to serve...

Craigslist 'Missed Connection' Hailed as Best Ever
 Craigslist 'Missed Connection' 
 Hailed as Best Ever 
in case you missed it
Oct 10, 2015 9:21 AM CDT

Craigslist 'Missed Connection' Hailed as Best Ever

A man met a woman on the last day of 1972, and decided not to kill himself

(Newser) - A week after a man flew four B-52 sorties over Hanoi, dropping a total of 48 bombs over an unknown number of homes, he holed up in an apartment in Boston with a fifth of Tennessee rye and a Smith & Wesson Model 15, and vowed, upon returning from a...

How a Lost US Airman Might Come Home, 71 Years Later

Tom McCaslin's plane crashed in France in 1944

(Newser) - Tom McCaslin's family still hopes he'll come home, 71 years after his B-26 bomber crashed in a field in France. "I think everybody in the family would feel better," says his brother, Joseph McCaslin, one of four surviving siblings who've longed for his return. Now...

N. Korea Already Threatening to Ax Reunions

Thanks to US B-52 flight

(Newser) - Well, that was fast. North Korea is already threatening to call off a reunion for families separated by the Korean War that it agreed to only yesterday , in response to a US bomber sortie over South Korea. "As we were reaching an agreement on the separated families, B-52 bombers...

China: We Watched US Cross Our Airspace

Muted response suggests it's not trying to provoke incident in East China Sea

(Newser) - China acknowledged today that it let two American B-52 bombers fly unhindered through its newly declared air defense zone in the East China Sea despite its earlier threat to take defensive measures against unidentified foreign aircraft. The US flights, which tested the Chinese zone for the first time since it...

Oops: How the US Almost Nuked Itself
 Oops: How 
 the US Almost 
 Nuked Itself 
in case you missed it
Sep 21, 2013 7:00 AM CDT

Oops: How the US Almost Nuked Itself

Bombs fell over North Carolina in 1961: book

(Newser) - The author of Fast Food Nation is offering a little reminder of the danger of nuclear weapons: If things had gone just a little differently, the US could have blown up North Carolina—and taken much of the East Coast out too, thanks to the fallout. In 1961, Eric Schlosser...

US Flying B-52s Over S. Korea
 US Flying B-52s Over S. Korea 
Mar 19, 2013 6:35 AM CDT

US Flying B-52s Over S. Korea

Demonstrating 'extended deterrence capabilities' as North postures

(Newser) - The latest escalation with North Korea: In response to the growing tension, the US is flying nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over the South, the BBC reports. The first mission flew on March 8, and the planes will fly again today. "We're drawing attention to the fact that we have...

Experimental Jet Crushes Speed Record

Unmanned, hypersonic aircraft flies 3,500mph

(Newser) - The Air Force let loose with an unmanned, experimental hypersonic jet yesterday, and watched it shatter all manner of record. The X-51 WaveRider tore across the Pacific at 3,500 mph, using a hypersonic engine that runs on air and uses virtually no moving parts. It stayed airborne for 200...

US Nuke Bomb Crew Caught Napping

Sleeping missile crew held secret codes

(Newser) - A three-man US missile crew fell asleep while in possession of  top secret launch codes for nuclear missiles, reports Reuters. It happened earlier this month at a Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota—the same site of a breach last year in which nuclear weapons were erroneously loaded on...

No Survivors in Crash of US Bomber off Guam

With 6 crew members considered dead, rescue focus shifts to recovery

(Newser) - The US Air Force said today all six crew members aboard a B-52 bomber that crashed Monday off Guam were killed. A wide search effort has shifted focus from rescue to recovery of the crew, said officials at Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island.

B-52 Crashes Off Guam
 B-52 Crashes Off Guam 
Jul 21, 2008 6:21 AM CDT

B-52 Crashes Off Guam

Search under way for 6 crew members

(Newser) - A US B-52 bomber with six crew members crashed near the island of Guam today, AP reports. A dozen planes and ships have been deployed by the Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard to search for survivors. Rescuers have found at least two people, but their condition was not immediately...

13 Stories