A U.S. B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber crashed on Monday after taking off from the vast Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California's Mojave Desert, killing all eight crew members.

US media reported that a thick plume of black smoke was seen from miles away immediately after the crash, while a video taken from the air of the crash site showed a burning and charred spot in the desert that exceeded the size of a football field, while emergency vehicles moved around the burning site.

The incident remains unknown

At a news conference hours after the crash, U.S. Air Force Col. James Hayes announced that the eight-engine plane, designed to carry nuclear and conventional bombs, was on a routine test mission aimed at supporting a radar modernization program.

Hayes noted that the cause of the accident is still unknown and is currently under close investigation , explaining that the "mixed crew" on board the bomber consisted of military, civilian and government contractors, while Boeing (the plane's designer and manufacturer) confirmed that two of its employees were among the eight victims.

American Bomber Specifications

The B-52 is a long-range heavy strategic bomber designed and manufactured by Boeing dating back to the 1940s and early Cold War, when Washington realized its need for an air platform capable of delivering nuclear weapons deep inside the Soviet Union without the frequent need for refueling or relying on advanced bases.

In 1952, prototypes began to enter actual production and were officially used by the Air Force since the 1950s.

The bomber has exceptional hydraulic and military specifications that make it unique globally, namely:

Dimensions and altitude: The aircraft is 48 meters long, 56 meters wide (wingspan), 12 meters above the ground, and has the ability to fly and reach a high altitude of about 15 kilometers.

Payload and range: It can fly an astonishing weapon payload of up to 31,500 kilograms (more than 30 tons of various bombs and hundreds of cruise missiles), with a maximum operational combat range of 14,000 to 16,000 kilometers without the need for aerial refueling.

Nuclear and conventional arsenals: The bomber is spectacularly armed to carry nuclear weapons on top of 12 advanced AGM-129 cruise missiles and 20 AGM-86A cruise missiles.

A comprehensive list of weapons also supports conventional missions, most notably the AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Joint Direct Attack (JDAM) munitions, AGM-142 Raptor missiles, conventional air cruise missiles (AGM-86C) and CALCM missiles.

Proven combat record

Throughout military history, the B-52 has been the main striking tool of the United States, as the Air Force has pushed it in the Vietnam, Gulf, Iraq, and Afghanistan wars.

Recently, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the use of these giant bombers in the joint US-Israeli war on Iran that broke out on February 28, 2026.

The command stated that the bomber targeted Iran's advanced ballistic missile sites and vital command and control centers within the first 100 hours of the start of military operations, highlighting the great operational importance that this aircraft represents to the US military expansion, as no other country in the world has this type of giant bomber or any platform that comes close to its destructive capabilities.

The crash of the B-52 Stratofortress heavy strategic bomber is a remarkable loss to the U.S. Air Force's most important aerial bombardment platform since the 1950s.

The aircraft is of great strategic importance due to its continuous participation in historical and modern major wars, the most recent of which was its push to strike ballistic missile sites and command centers in Iran following the outbreak of the US-Israel war, where the last crash took place during a routine test flight dedicated to upgrading its radar systems.