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B-52J Megafortress

Dale Brown novels have used various modified variants of the B-52 Stratofortress. The Megafortress first appeared in Dale Brown's Flight of the Old Dog and is expanded and upgraded in all his later books. In Flight of the Old Dog, the first book in the series, the aircraft is designated the B-52I Megafortress. B-52M Megafortress Plus is later introduced in Day of the Cheetah and the EB-52 designation is first used in Sky Masters.

In the 2012 timeframe, the B-52J designation was associated with a conversion of some -H models to the Stand Off Jammer platform, "J" indicating jammer, though other sources report the B-52 jammer variant as the EB-52. Presumably the "I" suffix might be skipped because of the potential confustion between the letter "I" and the numerical "1".

According to Aviation Week on 24 August 2018, the USAF has briefed industry representatives at Tinker AFB about a proposed update to the remaining H fleet. The update would be known as the J model. The updates would include a defensive system and avionics modernization, new ejection seats, targeting pod relocation, crash survivable flight data recorder and weapons system trainer. The proposal was unclear if the re-engine program would fall under the J upgrade.

Col Mike “Starbaby” Pietrucha in December 2015 floated the B-52J designator to describe an aircraft peforming " standoff roles, using longer-range weapons capabilities to strike from a distance.... the massive wing of the B-52, which allows for large fuel storage, external weapons carriage, and unmatched high altitude performance. A modernized B-52 would improve on the airplane’s basic attributes to better meet these standoff requirements. The objectives of a whole-aircraft modernization would be to extend the service life of the aircraft and adjust to the advances made by adversary systems since the initial design. Under the J proposal, the refitted bombers would receive several upgrades:

• A replacement of the ageing TF-33 turbofans with modern, low-maintenance turbofans derived from regional jet designs
• Installation of a modern AESA radar to provide broad area maritime surveillance, ship identification, situational awareness and standoff weapons employment
• Weapons certification upgrade, including JDAM-ER, JASSM-ER, Standard Missile derivatives and antiship weapons
• Certification of NASA’s 25,000-lb. Aerospace Vehicle Pylon as an option in place of Heavy Stores Adapter Beam for Pegasus derivatives.
• Upgrade of communication systems to include Link-16, Iridium, BLOS communications and to provide the baseline for integration into Navy Integrated Fire Control (NIFC).
• Modernization of ESM and EA systems to provide both passive detection and self-projection jamming against the threats capable of addressing a stand-off platform
• Aircraft upgrades, including improved cooling, high-capacity electrical generation, glass cockpit, addition of an APU, removal of excess weight and RVSM compatibility
• Upper Wing Skin replacement (if necessary)

Today, the B-1B’s mission capable rate hovers at levels too low to make the aircraft a reliable warfighting platform. The B-2’s sortie rate is extremely low, although the remaining 20 aircraft fill a very special niche. The B-52 is likely to remain the backbone of the bomber force, ".