The B-52 has long relied on Pratt & Whitney TF33 engines developed in the 1960s, which are increasingly costly to maintain.

Merlyn Dethlefsen was dubbed “taciturn, a born-again Christian, and not at all the typical fighter pilot," yet his exploits proved otherwise.

Keeping a 1960s airframe relevant in the 2050s has less to do with nostalgia than with wiring diagrams, test cards, and the ...