MentalityMag
Last month, we told you that the United States was going to send B-52 Stratofortress aircraft into the Middle East to pound ISIS. Well, it is now April and here come the motherfucking Stratofortresses to rain freedom all over these terrorist scum! The first B-52 Stratofortress aircrafts arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar on Saturday to assist the international coalition of 19 countries determined to quash Daesh. The multi-functional long-range heavy bombers will support Operation Inherent Resolve, the mission to eliminate the ISIL.
“The B-52 will provide the coalition continued precision and deliver desired airpower effects,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the commander of U.S. Air Forces Central Command and Combined Forces Air Component. “As a multi-role platform, the B-52 offers diverse capabilities including delivery of precision weapons and the flexibility and endurance needed to support the combatant commanders’ priorities and strengthen the coalition team.”
The B-52 offers a bevy of options including strategic attack, close-air support, air interdiction and maritime operations.
Despite having carpet-bombing capabilities, that function will not utilized.
“Accuracy is critically important in this war,” Brown said. “Carpet-bombing would not be effective for the operation we’re in because Daesh doesn’t mass as large groups. Often, they blend into population centers. We always look to minimize civilian casualties.”
The U.S. Air Force has not deployed B-52 Stratofortress aircraft into the Middle East since 1991 for the Gulf War, but the war against Islamic State has ushered in a need for the iconic bomber.
Let’s learn a bit about the B-52 Stratofortress shall we?
Wingspan: 185 feet (56.4 meters)
Length: 159 feet, 4 inches (48.5 meters)
Height: 40 feet, 8 inches (12.4 meters)
Weight: Approximately 185,000 pounds (83,250 kilograms)
Maximum takeoff weight: 488,000 pounds (219,600 kilograms)
Fuel capacity: 312,197 pounds (141,610 kilograms)
Payload: 70,000 pounds (31,500 kilograms)
Speed: 650 miles per hour (Mach 0.84)
Range: 8,800 miles (7,652 nautical miles)
Ceiling: 50,000 feet (15,151.5 meters)
Armament: approximately 70,000 pounds (31,500 kilograms) mixed ordnance: bombs, mines and missiles. (Modified to carry air-launched cruise missiles)
Crew: five (aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer)
Unit cost: $84 million (fiscal 2012 constant dollars)
Initial operating capability: April 1952
ISIS, you done fucked up.
[Reuters]