Air Force Solicits Proposals for B-52 Bomber Engine Replacement Program

The U.S. Air Force has issued a solicitation for a contract to replace the engines of its fleet of 76 Boeing-built (NYSE: BA) B-52 Stratofortress bombers.

A notice published Tuesday says the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, which will cover 608 new engines, spares, program management, support and test equipment, inspection and repair, unscheduled repair and inspection, training and related support services.

General Electric (NYSE: GE), Raytheon Technologies’ (NYSE: RTX) Pratt & Whitney subsidiary and Rolls-Royce will compete for the B-52 CERP IDIQ contract. The three companies received other transactional authority agreements from the service branch to perform engine integration risk analysis and develop virtual prototypes, according to the solicitation.

Defense News reported Pratt & Whitney will offer its PW800 for the program, while Rolls-Royce plans to propose its F130 engine. GE Aviation will advance its Passport and CF34-10 engines.

The B-52 CERP program could run between fiscal years 2021 and 2035 to accommodate the integration effort’s prototyping and production phases. The contract will have a performance period of up to 17 years, including one basic period of six years.

The service branch will accept proposals through July 22 and expects to award the contract in June 2021.

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