U.S. Air Force B-52 Strategic Bomber Completes Ferry Flight After Installation of New AESA Radar System

US Air Force Begins Testing New AESA Radar on B-52 Bomber in 2025

Your Page Title ANJ, December 13 - In a pivotal advancement for strategic airpower, the United States Air Force has initiated rigorous testing of the advanced AN/APQ-188 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar on the iconic B-52 Stratofortress bomber. On December 8, 2025, the first modified B-52H completed a ferry flight from Boeing's San Antonio, Texas, facility to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the 412th Test Wing and 419…

Air Force: B-52 Radar Test Flight Marks New Era of Deterrence

A B-52 equipped with the new Stratofortress radar flew Dec. 8, a key first step in modernizing the Cold War bomber. The flight, from Boeing’s San Antonio, Texas, facility to Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where the system will be put through the paces in testing, was a major step toward realizing the goal of a massively updated B-52J configuration, Air Force officials said in a Dec. 10 release. The upgrade has not always been smooth flying. T…

U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber completes ferry flight after installation of new AESA radar system

A crew from the 49th Test Evaluation Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base and the 419th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base transferred the aircraft on 8 December. The test team will carry out ground and flight testing through 2026 to support a production decision later that year. The new Active Electronically Scanned Array radar replaces the B-52’s ageing and failing legacy system, providing upgraded all-weather navigation and target…

US Air Force begins testing new radar for B-52 bomber

The US Air Force has begun evaluating a new active electronically scanned array radar system for its B-52H bomber fleet, with testing now underway at Edwards AFB following delivery of the first modified aircraft from Boeing’s San Antonio facility.

USAF B-52 completes ferry flight after radar upgrade

A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress has completed its ferry flight following the installation of a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, marking another step in the service’s broader effort to modernize the long-serving bomber fleet.  The aircraft flew from Boeing’s San Antonio facility to Edwards Air Force Base, California, on December 8, 2025. The mission was carried out by crews from the 49th Test Evaluation Squadron at Barksda…

B-52 Upgraded with AESA Radar Arrives at Edwards AFB

The B-52H received the AN/APQ-188 AESA radar at Boeing’s San Antonio facility and has now arrived at Edwards AFB for the ground and flight testing planned throughout 2026. The U.S. Air Force has announced that the B-52H Stratofortress modified with the new AN/APQ-188 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar has been ferried to Edwards Air […]