A B-52 bomber landed safely after an engine dropped out of the plane during an Air Force training flight in North Dakota Wednesday, resurrecting questions about the plane’s viability after months of skepticism from Republican politicians.
Defense News reported Wednesday that no one was injured in the incident and no weapons were on board the eight-engine plane. The engine fell off the plane in an unpopulated area northeast of Minot Air Force base and debris from the engine will be recovered by the Air Force, according to the report.
It’s unknown at this point what caused the engine to fall off the plane.
Republican politicians have repeatedly used the B-52 bomber as the poster child for outdated military infrastructure that needs to be replaced, especially during the presidential campaign.
President-elect Trump called out the B-52 as a sign of America’s weakening military during a presidential debate with Hillary Clinton last year.
He said its continued usage shows that the U.S. isn’t keeping up with other countries on developing new military items.
“I was seeing B-52s, they’re old enough that your father, your grandfather could be flying them,” Trump said. “We are not — we are not keeping up with other countries.”
Last year, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said the bomber, first put into use in 1952, is older than he is and is a prime example of how the U.S. is falling behind on military spending. Ben Carson frequently cited the program’s age as well.
“We’re flying B-52s,” he said in the first Republican presidential debate. “The most recent one that was put in service was November of 1962. A lot of the B-52s we’re flying, we’ve only got 44 that are in service, combat ready, and the fact is, most of them are older than me. And that’s pretty scary.”
Military experts have pointed out the B-52s used by today’s military are not exactly same as were first produced in the 1950s and 1960s and have been updated with modern technology. They are scheduled to be used by the military until 2040.
The military also flies the B-1 heavy bomber and B-2 stealth bomber. Last year, the Pentagon chose Northrop Grumman to build the new long-range strike bomber, the B-21 Raider.
