It was built by Boeing during the Cold War era to carry out nuclear missions and made its maiden flight in April 1952.
The B-52 bomber, also known as the Stratofortress, is an imposing sight in the skies, its wide wing span creating a widely recognised silhouette. It has eight long-range engines and can carry a wide variety of munitions, including long-range nuclear missiles and 500-pound bombs.
“It has been in continuous operation since about the mid-1950s,” Mark Cancian, a retired colonel and senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, tells The National. “Measured by longevity, it may be the most successful aircraft in history.”
That success, Col Cancian says, is thanks to the continuous upgrades the aircraft has received over its decades-long lifespan, one that, according to Boeing, could stretch beyond 2040.
“The aircraft today are very different from what was originally built … the offensive avionics and defensive avionics have been vastly upgraded and replaced, and the engines are being upgraded also.”
In the first months of President Donald Trump's second administration, the US Air Force has carried out several missions involving B-52 bombers in the Middle East. They usually consist of flyovers in the region, sometimes with allies, and refuelling exercises.
Gen Michael Kurilla of US Central Command said the missions “demonstrate US power projection capability, commitment to regional security and ability to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict".
In photographs from a recent mission on March 6, Israeli fighter planes were seen escorting a B-52 bomber.
While the exercises are often planned months or even years ahead of time, Col Cancian believes they serve as a direct warning to Iran. They also come at a moment when the US is set for a major escalation in the Red Sea against the Iran-backed Houthis with the expected presence of a second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
“President Trump has taken a very hard line on Iran in his second term,” Col Cancian says. “He has been willing to use force in the Middle East, against the Houthis, for example. But I think it’s unlikely the United States would attack Iran; more likely, the United States would help Israel attack Iran.”
The US would do this by providing the Israelis with bunker-busting munitions, intelligence or electronic support in an effort to destroy underground Iranian nuclear sites, he says.
But in the event of a military confrontation between Washington and Tehran, the B-52 could be used to fire long-range missiles from outside Iranian airspace.
“They are too vulnerable to air defence systems,” Col Cancian says, adding that the US would probably opt for the stealthier B-2 or B-1 bombers for missions inside Iranian air space.
“The B-52 symbolises massive firepower … its strength is in stand-off, staying outside of the air defence bubble and then firing into it.”
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TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
Juliot Vinolia’s checklist for adopting alternate-day fasting
- Don’t do it more than once in three days
- Don’t go under 700 calories on fasting days
- Ensure there is sufficient water intake, as the body can go in dehydration mode
- Ensure there is enough roughage (fibre) in the food on fasting days as well
- Do not binge on processed or fatty foods on non-fasting days
- Complement fasting with plant-based foods, fruits, vegetables, seafood. Cut out processed meats and processed carbohydrates
- Manage your sleep
- People with existing gastric or mental health issues should avoid fasting
- Do not fast for prolonged periods without supervision by a qualified expert
