B-1은 2037년까지, B-2도 운영기간 연장

[위종민]

미 국방예산이 늘면서 B-1과 B-2 모두 예상보다 긴 시간 동안 운영을 할 수 있게 됐네요. 

공군, B-1은 2037년까지 유지… B-2는 더 오래 운용 계획
2026년 4월 24일 | 작성자 Stephen Losey

2025년 12월 3일 사우스다코타주 엘스워스 공군기지에서 정비 점검이 시작되며 제28폭격비행단 소속 B-1B 랜서가 대기 중이다. 공군은 새로운 B-21 레이더 스텔스 폭격기를 도입하는 동안 B-1을 2037년까지 계속 운용할 계획이다. (미 공군 사진: Airman 1st Class Austin Mooneyham)

공군은 향후 5년 동안 B-1B 랜서와 B-2 스피릿 폭격기의 현대화를 지속하기 위해 약 17억 달러를 투자할 계획이며, 이는 B-21 레이더가 대량 배치되기 전에 이들 항공기를 퇴역시키려던 기존 계획을 수정한 것이다.

이러한 연장은 공군이 차세대 B-21을 배치하고 B-52를 새로운 J형으로 개량하는 동안, 두 플랫폼이 지닌 속도, 항속거리, 스텔스 성능을 유지하기 위한 것이다. B-52J는 새로운 엔진과 전면 디지털 콕핏을 갖출 예정이다.

B-1과 B-2는 원래 2030년대 초반 퇴역이 예정되어 있었다. 그러나 최근 작전에서 지속적인 전투 가치를 입증했으며, 트럼프 대통령의 국방비 증액 추진으로 인해 이들 항공기를 계속 개량할 수 있는 여지가 생겼다.

새로운 예산 문서에 따르면 2027년부터 2031년까지 B-1 현대화에 3억 4,200만 달러가 투입될 예정이다. “이 요청은 플랫폼을 현대화하고 2037년까지 치명성과 운용 적합성을 유지하기 위한 필요한 자금을 제공한다”고 예산 문서는 밝혔다.

공군은 같은 기간 동안 B-2 소수 기단에 대해서는 더 많은 금액인 13억 5,000만 달러를 투자할 계획이다. 해당 문서에는 B-2의 퇴역 시점은 명시되어 있지 않다.

전 국방부 차관보 대행이자 폭격기 전문가인 퇴역 대령 Mark Gunzinger는 B-2가 B-1과 함께 더 오래 운용될 가능성이 높다고 말했다.

“폭격기 수요가 급증하는 상황에서 B-1과 B-2를 유지하는 것은 매우 합리적이다,” 현재 미첼 항공우주연구소 미래 개념 및 능력 평가 책임자인 Gunzinger는 말했다. “B-2는 우리가 보유한 유일한 완전 운용 가능한 스텔스 폭격기이며, 장거리 침투 타격 능력은 군에서 가장 큰 부족 요소 중 하나다. 그렇다면 왜 B-2를 조기에 퇴역시키겠는가? 이는 전적으로 예산과 자원 문제였다.”

공군 글로벌 타격사령부는 성명을 통해 B-21이 도입된 이후에도 B-2는 필요할 경우 계속 미주리주 화이트먼 공군기지에서 운용될 것이라고 밝혔다. 첫 번째 B-21 실전 배치는 2027년 사우스다코타주 엘스워스 공군기지에서 이루어질 예정이며, 화이트먼은 두 번째 배치 기지가 될 것이다.

“B-21을 배치하는 동안에도 동시에 훈련과 작전 수행 요구가 존재한다,” 글로벌 타격사 대변인은 말했다. “B-2는 대통령에게 중요한 장거리 타격 옵션으로 남을 것이며, 국가 안보에 필요한 한 지속적으로 운용 가능한 전력으로 유지될 것이다.”

공군은 B-1 44대와 B-2 19대를 보유하고 있으며, 이 중 핵무기를 운용할 수 있는 것은 B-2뿐이다. 반면 B-1은 유도 및 비유도 재래식 무장을 공군 내 어떤 항공기보다 더 많이 탑재할 수 있다.

Gunzinger는 이러한 운용 연장이 새로운 전력을 배치하는 동안 기존 폭격기들이 현재 작전 요구를 충족하기 위해 필요하다는 공군의 인식을 반영한다고 말했다.

“폭격기 수요는 계속 증가하는 방향으로만 가고 있다,” 그는 말했다. “이는 평시 억지를 유지하기 위한 폭격기 임무뿐 아니라 ‘미드나이트 해머’와 같은 작전에서도 마찬가지다.”

2026년 3월 29일 ‘오퍼레이션 에픽 퓨리’를 지원하기 위해 미 전략사령부 책임 구역에서 B-2 스피릿 스텔스 폭격기가 출격하기 전, 미 공군 인원들이 비행 전 점검을 수행하고 있다. B-2는 장거리 정밀 타격 능력을 제공하며, 경쟁 환경을 돌파해 고가치 목표를 위협할 수 있다. (미 공군 사진)

2025년 6월, B-2 7대가 함께 수행한 이란 핵 시설 공격 성공은 “두 폭격기 모두를 유지하기로 결정한 전환점 중 하나”였다고 그는 말했다. 해당 작전에 사용된 30,000파운드급 벙커버스터를 운반·투하할 수 있는 것은 B-2뿐이었으며, 이 독특한 능력을 유지할 필요성이 국가 안보 지도부에 더욱 분명해졌다.

최근 이란을 대상으로 한 ‘오퍼레이션 에픽 퓨리’에는 B-1, B-2, B-52 등 현재의 모든 폭격기 전력이 참여했다.

Gunzinger는 공군이 이들 폭격기의 수명을 연장하는 방안을 이전부터 검토해왔지만, 예산과 인력 운용 문제로 인해 지금까지 실행하지 못했다고 말했다. 그러나 국방부가 2027년 사상 최대인 1조 5천억 달러 예산을 요청하면서, 이제는 가능해졌다는 것이 폭격기 커뮤니티의 인식이다.

이들 항공기를 유지하고 B-21을 계획보다 더 많이 도입하는 것은, 향후 구형 폭격기를 최종적으로 퇴역시킬 때의 위험을 줄여준다. 또한 공군은 그 시점까지 정비 시설, 예비 부품, 정비 인력 등 폭격기 유지 능력에 투자할 수 있게 될 것이며, 이는 최근 몇 년간 자원 부족으로 축소되어 왔던 분야들이다.

Air Force Plans to Keep B-1s Through 2037, Fly B-2s Longer

A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing rests as maintenance inspections begin at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Dec. 3, 2025. The Air Force plans to keep flying its B-1s through 2037 as it brings on new B-21 Raider stealth bombers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Austin Mooneyham)

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Air Force Plans to Keep B-1s Through 2037, Fly B-2s Longer

April 24, 2026 | By Stephen Losey

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The Air Force is planning to invest nearly $1.7 billion to continue modernizing the B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit bombers over the next five years, revising earlier plans to retire those aircraft before the B-21 Raider is fielded in bulk.

Extending the bombers ensures USAF retains the speed, range, and stealth unique to those two platforms while it fields the next-generation B-21 and overhauls its B-52s into the new J configuration, with new engines and an all-glass cockpit.

The B-1 and B-2s had been targeted for retirement in the early 2030s. But both have demonstrated continued combat value in recent operations, and with President Trump’s push to increase defense spending, the door opened to continue to update the aircraft.

New budget documents detail plans to spend $342 million on B-1 modernization from 2027 to 2031. “This request provides the necessary funding to modernize the platform, ensuring its lethality and relevance through 2037,” the budget said.

The Air Force will invest even more in its small fleet of B-2s—$1.35 billion over the same five-year window. The documents don’t show a retirement date for the B-2s.

Retired Col. Mark Gunzinger, a former deputy undersecretary of defense and bomber expert who flew B-52s during his flying career, said it’s likely the B-2s will remain longer, alongside the B-1s.

“Given the skyrocketing demand [for bomber capacity], it makes perfect sense to buy back the B-1 and B-2,” said Gunzinger, now director of future concepts and capability assessments for AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “The B-2 is the only fully operational stealth bomber that we have, and frankly, long-range penetrating strike capability is one of the most significant shortfalls in our military. So why divest the B-2 early? It was completely budget-driven and resource driven.”

In a statement, Air Force Global Strike Command said the B-2s will continue to operate from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., for as long as they are needed, even after the B-21 comes online. The first operational B-21s will be fielded at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., in 2027, with Whiteman the second base to host them.

“As we field the B-21, the requirement exists to simultaneously train and perform operational missions,” the Global Strike spokesperson said. “The B-2 will remain a critical long-range strike option for the President and will be maintained as a viable capability for as long as it is needed for national security.”

The Air Force has 44 B-1s and 19 B-2s, but of the two, only the B-2 can carry nuclear weapons. The B-1, however, is equipped to carry more conventional weapons—both guided and unguided—than any other aircraft in the Air Force’s inventory.

Gunzinger said the extensions reflect the Air Force’s recognition that it will need the older bombers to keep pace with current operational requirements as it works to bring new capabilities to the field.

“The operational demand for bombers continues to go in one direction: up,” Gunzinger said. “That is both peacetime demand for bombers, to support bomber task force operations which help maintain deterrence globally, but also for operations like Midnight Hammer.”

U.S. Air Force Airmen conduct preflight operations prior to a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber departure in the U.S. Strategic Command area of responsibility in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 29, 2026. The B-2 provided long-range precision strike capabilities, allowing it to penetrate contested environments and hold high-value targets at risk. (U.S. Air Force photo)

That successful attack on Iran’s nuclear sites by seven B-2s operating together in June 2025 “was one of the tipping points toward buying back both bombers,” he said. Only the B-2 could carry and deliver the 30,000-pound Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs used in that operation, and the need to preserve that unique capability was suddenly much clearer to national security leaders.

In the recent Operation Epic Fury against Iran, all three current bomber fleets—B-1s, B-2s, and B-52s—took part.  

Gunzinger said the Air Force had considered extending the lives of those bombers all along, but concerns about funding and crewing those airplanes held them back until now. With the Pentagon requesting an all-time record $1.5 trillion budget for 2027, Gunzinger said, the view in the bomber community was that now that would be possible.

Keeping them, and building more B-21s than originally planned, will make it less risky when the time comes to finally retire the older bombers. And by the time the Air Force cuts back to its planned fleet of B-21s and B-52Js, the service will have been able to invest in bomber sustainment, including depot capacity, spare parts, and maintenance talent—areas that in recent years had to be cut back for lack of resources.

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항모와 전함이 이미 2차대전 때부터 몇 년 지속되는 장기전에서도 새로 만들어 쓰기가 아주 어려운 무기체계였는데 이제 폭격기도 그렇습니다. 생산 중인 B-21같은 것이 아닌 한.

[위종민]

중국도 H-6를 오래오래 쓰고 있고, 러시아도 Tu-95를 마르고 닳도록 쓰고 있네요.