The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress has been operated by the USAF for more than 60 years and is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds of bombs and has a combat range of more than 8,800 miles without aerial refueling. It replaced the Convair B-36 and was designed to carry nuclear weapons for the Cold War era. The B-52 has dropped only conventional munitions in combat and is expected to serve into the 2040s. Production was from 1952 to 1962 with 744 aircraft built.