The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress has patrolled the skies for the U.S Air Force for the better part of seven decades since its February 1955 introduction.

And now, the strategic bomber is currently undergoing some improvements aimed at keeping it in the skies even up until the century mark.

Part of the key improvements includes a major re-engining project so significant that the designation of its most-recent variant, the B-52H, is set to change after almost two generations.

This development has left everyone in the military aviation industry shocked. Here’s why.