U.S. Strategic Bombers

Updated July 31, 2026

U.S. Strategic Bombers

The U.S. Air Force deploys three strategic (or heavy)

bombers—the B-52, B-1B, and B-2—to carry bombs or airto-surface missiles for conventional and nuclear missions.

Bombers carry heavy ordnance loads across long distances,

for extended periods of time, to strike adversary targets of

tactical and strategic importance. The Air Force is

developing a new B-21 strategic bomber as a nextgeneration stealth aircraft to conduct nuclear missions and

as a component of a conventional family of systems

including electronic attack, communications, and other

systems. Congress authorizes and appropriates funds for

and conducts oversight of Air Force development,

acquisition, maintenance, and manning of the U.S. bomber

fleet, as well as the nuclear weapons carried by these

aircraft. For FY2027, the Air Force requested $6.1 billion in

discretionary funding for the B-21 bomber program. The

service requested $3.1 billion in discretionary funding and

$125 million in mandatory funding for B-52, B-1B, and B-2

upgrades and support.

Conventional and Nuclear Missions

The role of bombers has evolved over time. During World

War II, the United States developed new bomber types and

produced tens of thousands of bombers. A combined

conventional bomber offensive with the United Kingdom

from 1942 to 1945 aimed to destroy the German military

industrial and economic system. In August 1945, on the

orders of U.S. President Harry Truman, U.S. B-29 heavy

bombers delivered the “only nuclear weapons ever used in

combat” on targets in Japan. During the Cold War, reports

about Soviet bomber prowess spurred the United States to

increase defense spending and build up its bomber fleet.

Today, bombers support one of the U.S. Air Force’s core

conventional functions: air superiority—that is, the degree

of control of an airspace that allows for operations without

interference from adversarial air and missile threats.

Bombers aid the air superiority mission by providing the

ability to carry out long-range precision strikes.

The 2022 U.S. Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the most

recent version of a periodic executive branch review of U.S.

nuclear policies, reaffirmed bombers as an integral part of

the U.S. nuclear “triad” that also includes long-range landbased intercontinental ballistic missiles and long-range

submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The 2018 NPR stated

that “heavy bombers are the most flexible and visible leg of

the triad.” The 2010 NPR stated that “heavy bombers can

be visibly forward deployed, thereby signaling U.S. resolve

and commitment in crisis.”

The United States has periodically stationed bombers in

allied countries, conducted continuous patrols, or

maintained bombers on alert status. In 2018, Air Force

Global Strike Command began Bomber Task Force

deployments, which involve bomber flights to allied nations

around the world to take part in patrols and exercises to

“assure allies and deter adversaries.” Since 2020, the

command has refined the use of Agile Combat Employment

of bombers to expand the number of bases from which

bombers can operate, to include demonstrating the ability to

land at civilian airfields.

The U.S. Strategic Bomber Fleet

B-52 Stratofortress

The B-52, which entered service in 1955, is a long-range

heavy bomber that can fly 8,800 miles without refueling.

Known as the Stratofortress, the B-52 can conduct

conventional and nuclear bombing missions (i.e., dualcapable), offensive counter-air operations, and maritime

surveillance and mine-laying operations. The B-52 can

carry 70,000 pounds of ordnance. Boeing built 744 B-52s,

delivering the last H-model B-52 in 1962. The Air Force

plans to extend the life of the remaining 76 aircraft into the

2040s. The aircraft are based at Barksdale Air Force Base

(AFB) in Louisiana and Minot AFB in North Dakota.

According to a 2022 Department of State fact sheet (the

most recent available), 46 B-52 aircraft are capable of

carrying nuclear weapons. These nuclear-capable B-52s are

equipped to carry air-launched cruise missiles (ALCMs)

armed with the W80-1 warhead. The Air Force is

developing a replacement for the aging ALCMs with a new

advanced Long-Range Standoff (LRSO) cruise missile. The

Air Force noted its plans to buy 1,087 LRSO missiles. The

Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security

Administration (NNSA) is extending the life of the W80

warhead to provide a warhead for LRSO. Section 1626 of

the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year

2025 (NDAA; P.L. 118-159) permitted the Air Force to

reconvert for nuclear missions B-52 bombers modified for

conventional-only missions in accordance with the U.S.Russian 2010 New START Treaty, which expired in

February 2026.

The Air Force is undertaking two B-52 upgrade projects.

The B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program seeks

to create a new version of the aircraft—the B-52J—with

Rolls Royce F-130 engines and other design changes that

were finalized in April 2026. The service anticipates

modernizing 51 B-52s to J models by FY2032 and the

remaining aircraft in FY2033. The B-52 Radar

Modernization Program (RMP) is designed to allow the

aircraft to track moving surface and air targets to include

hypersonic weapons. In 2025, the RMP incurred a

significant Nunn-McCurdy cost breach. The first B-52 with

the RMP crashed in June 2026, killing eight crew members.

The Air Force is reportedly modifying a second test aircraft.

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U.S. Strategic Bombers

B-1B Lancer

The B-1B was designed to be a dual-capable bomber and

the successor to the B-52. The Department of Defense

(DOD, which is “using a secondary Department of War

designation” under Executive Order 14347, dated

September 5, 2025) declared that the B-1B had reached

initial operational capability in 1986. During the 1990s,

under the U.S.-Russian Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,

the United States converted the B-1B to conventional

missions. The B-1B can carry a 75,000-pound payload—the

largest conventional weapons load in the U.S. Air Force’s

inventory—including general-purpose and precision-guided

munitions. The B-1B conducts a variety of bomber task

force and training missions. The 7th Bomb Wing, based at

Dyess AFB in Texas, and the 28th Bomb Wing from

Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota operate the B-1B. The Air

Force has 44 B-1Bs, down from an original fleet of 100.

Congress has written provisions to limit retirement of the

B-1, which is sustained by Boeing. Section 146 of the

FY2026 NDAA (P.L. 119-60) extends to 2030 a prior

prohibition on reductions to the B-1B fleet. The Air Force

plans to retain the B-1B through 2037. Section 151 of the

House-passed FY2027 NDAA (H.R. 8800) would mandate

an Air Force report on the feasibility of restoring the B1B’s capability to carry nuclear weapons.

officials have reportedly said that the B-21 could fly

without a human crew, although the service is focusing on

operations with a two-pilot crew. In 2026, the Air Force and

the aircraft’s prime contractor, Northrop Grumman,

announced plans to expand B-21 production capacity. The

Air Force has plans to buy at least 100 B-21 aircraft, which

are scheduled to begin arriving at Ellsworth AFB by 2027.

The Air Force has approved Whiteman AFB and Dyess

AFB as B-21 bases.

The Air Force has projected that the B-21 would cost $550

million apiece in 2010 dollars, based on the purchase of 100

aircraft. A B-21 test flight aircraft has flown more than 200

test flights. In September 2025, the Air Force received a

second flight-test aircraft. In June 2026, the Air Force

began operational testing concurrently with developmental

testing. Section 150 of the FY2026 NDAA (P.L. 119-60),

required annual assessments of the B-21’s cost, schedule,

and performance. Section 1634 set deadlines for the Air

Force to certify and employ the LRSO on the B-21.

Potential Issues for Congress

B-2 Spirit

The B-2 is a dual-capable multi-role heavy bomber. The

aircraft is considered a stealthy (or low-observable) aircraft

in that its design and materials limit its ability to be

detected by enemy radar. For example, the B-2’s flying

wing design—its triangular shape, composite materials, and

coating—reduce its radar cross section to penetrate air

defenses. The B-2 can carry a payload of 40,000 pounds.

The aircraft made its first flight in 1989 and began initial

operations in 1997. The Air Force has 20 B-2 bombers

based at Whiteman AFB in Missouri.

Sizing the bomber fleet and the Air Force budget. In

April 2026, some Members of Congress supported

increasing the B-21 fleet. Reports accompanying the

committee-reported versions of an FY2027 NDAA (H.Rept.

119-698 and S.Rept. 119-127, respectively) directed DOD

to report on B-21 force structure. Some experts have said

that the Air Force needs at least 200 stealth bombers, citing

the high operational tempo of bomber task forces,

especially for the aging bomber fleet. Operation Midnight

Hammer—the June 2025 U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear

facilities—relied on seven of 20 U.S. B-2 stealth bombers

for strikes. Others were reportedly used as decoys. Section

151 of the FY2026 NDAA (P.L. 119-60) required the Air

Force to submit to the congressional defense committees a

bomber aircraft force structure and transition roadmap.

The B-2 can carry B61 and B83 nuclear gravity bombs and

is not equipped to carry cruise missiles. In 2025, NNSA

completed the B61-12 life-extension program. NNSA is

developing a B61-13 bomb, which, according to DOD,

would give the President “additional options against certain

harder and large-area military targets” as the Pentagon

“works to retire” the B83. The B-2 is certified to carry

conventional munitions, including the Long Range AntiShip Missile and the Massive Ordnance Penetrator, which

is designed to defeat deeply buried targets.

Modernization of nuclear-capable bomber basing. The

Air Force is upgrading and increasing the number of

bomber bases capable of storing nuclear weapons.

According to 2024 testimony of then-U.S. Strategic

Command Commander Air Force General Anthony Cotton,

Whiteman AFB, Minot AFB, Barksdale AFB, Ellsworth

AFB, and Dyess AFB will host new weapons generation

facilities. S.Rept. 119-127 requests an Air Force briefing on

the potential reactivation of nuclear facilities at Grand

Forks AFB in North Dakota.

The Air Force continues to modernize the B-2. In 2024,

Northrop Grumman won a contract of up to $7 billion

through 2029 to maintain and improve B-2 stealth and

communications capabilities, engines, and displays.

Base security and hardening. The Air Force has sought to

improve base protection against uncrewed aerial systems

(UAS) and missile threats. Whiteman AFB is one of five

bases participating in a directed-energy counter-UAS pilot

program. Some Members have argued for base hardening

and “passive defenses” in the Indo-Pacific. Members may

consider whether to provide funding to bolster the

infrastructure at main operating bases and potentially at

smaller airfields to support force dispersion.

B-21 Raider

The B-21 is a dual-capable penetrating-strike stealth

bomber currently in development. The B-21 is similar to the

B-2 but slightly smaller, with a distinctive beak domed

center. The Air Force has designed the B-21 with an opensystems architecture to allow for faster software integration.

The Air Force plans for the B-21 to “employ a broad mix of

stand-off and direct-attack munitions.” The B-21 is

expected to carry the LRSO and gravity bombs. Air Force

Jennifer DiMascio, Analyst in U.S. Defense Policy

Anya L. Fink, Analyst in U.S. Defense Policy

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U.S. Strategic Bombers

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