New pictures captured by aviation photographer Ryan Watamura present a U.S. Air Pressure B-52H flying a low-level route over California with one exterior pylon loaded with the brand new AGM-181 Lengthy Vary Stand Off (LRSO) missile.
New images shared with The Aviationist add one other piece to the puzzle of the B-52’s ongoing integration assessments with the AGM-181 Lengthy Vary Stand Off (LRSO) missile. The photographs, taken by aviation photographer Ryan Watamura on Nov. 5, 2025, present a U.S. Air Pressure B-52H Stratofortress flying a low-level route at excessive pace whereas carrying a single exterior pylon loaded with what seems to be the Air Pressure’s next-generation stealth nuclear cruise missile, the AGM-181 Lengthy Vary Stand Off (LRSO).
Watamura described the second in a message to The Aviationist:
“I’d seen this B-52 the week earlier than, so I used to be excited to listen to it name in. TORCH checked into the Sidewinder Low Degree mid-afternoon and entered the route at 390 kt, 2,000 ft. It rolled by way of with one exterior pylon loaded with the brand new weapon(s), an ideal cap to a day spent chasing passes and gathering gentle.”
The sighting marks the second time a B-52 is noticed carrying the AGM-181, and the brand new images complement the imagery printed final week of a B-52H with take a look at markings flying with the same payload over Edwards Air Pressure Base, which hinted at ongoing integration and aerodynamic testing of the LRSO below the bomber’s exterior pylons.
As soon as once more, though the U.S. Air Pressure has not publicly acknowledged the weapon, the brand new pictures present sturdy visible affirmation that its form and configuration are virtually similar to the official rendering of the AGM-181 LRSO, reinforcing the identification constituted of earlier sightings.
Furthermore, the B-52 carrying the LRSO sported the distinctive START compliance fins on its tail, which establish it as a nuclear-capable plane below the New START treaty. These fins are used to tell apart bombers geared up for nuclear missions from conventional-only variants throughout arms-control inspections, additional reinforcing the hyperlink between this particular airframe and the testing of a strategic, nuclear-delivery weapon just like the AGM-181 LRSO.
The nuclear model has a fin on either side of rear fuselage
The non-nuclear model doesn’t
The fins are used as exterior options to establish the nuclear model below the New START treaty. There are 46 nuclear and 41 non-nuclear B-52s. pic.twitter.com/QcW13HEuiO
— Hans Kristensen (additionally on Bluesky) (@nukestrat) August 26, 2022
The AGM-181 LRSO is anticipated to exchange the growing old AGM-86B Air-Launched Cruise Missile, providing a stealthier and extra survivable stand-off functionality for the U.S. strategic bomber fleet. Its improvement is a part of the broader B-52 modernization effort, which additionally consists of new radar, engines, and communications upgrades.
The weapons are put in on the outer attachment factors of a A number of Ejector Rack (MER), which might maintain as much as six weapons (not six AGM-181s). The MER can also be utilized by the B-52H to hold a number of kinds of ordinance.
Right here’s what we wrote concerning the LRSO in our earlier article on the brand new weapon:
The AGM-181 Lengthy Vary Standoff (LRSO) Cruise Missile is a protracted vary survivable standoff weapon able to delivering deadly nuclear results on strategic targets, which can substitute the presently fielded AGM-86 Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM). The LRSO shall be built-in on each the B-52 Stratofortress and B-21 Raider bomber plane.
The LRSO weapon system shall be able to penetrating and surviving superior Built-in Air Protection Techniques (IADS) from vital standoff ranges to prosecute strategic targets in assist of the Air Pressure’s world assault functionality and strategic deterrence core operate.
The LRSO is a precedence for the Air Pressure because the U.S. is working to modernize its nuclear triad, and has been outlined as a essential functionality for the B-21 Raider. The brand new stealth bomber is ready to be geared up with three nuclear weapons: the AGM-181 LRSO cruise missile and the B61-12 and B61-13 bombs, with the latter used completely by the Raider.
Because the weapon is being examined in secret, final yr the Air Pressure’s then Service Acquisition Govt Andrew Hunter advised the Senate Committee on Armed Providers that the program is on monitor. “It’s monitoring properly, this system is unquestionably on monitor to fulfill its timeline and ship to the warfighter any day and we’re additionally doing properly on price for that program as properly,” mentioned Hunter.
In 2020, the Air Pressure chosen Raytheon because the prime contractor for this system and, a yr later, LRSO entered Engineering, Manufacturing, and Improvement (EMD). In 2022, it was revealed that LRSO performed 9 profitable main flight assessments demonstrating its capacity to securely separate from the B-52H plane, in addition to weapon flight floor deployment, engine operations, flight management actuations and managed flight.
Initially, the Air Pressure and Congress have additionally been discussing potential acquisition of conventionally armed variants of the missile. Nonetheless, it was later resolve to not pursue a traditional warhead model of the LRSO, with the Air Pressure now seeking to the AGM-158B JASSM-ER (Joint Air-to-Floor Standoff Missile-Prolonged Vary) and the AGM-158D JASSM-XR (JASSM-Excessive Vary) to fill the requirement for a traditional air-launched cruise missile.
The Air Pressure talked about in its truth sheets {that a} whole of 1,715 of AGM-86B missiles have been produced, though in 2007 the service introduced the choice to cut back the stock to 528 missiles. The weapons are set to be retired by 2030, changed by approximatively 1,020 AGM-181s, based on The Struggle Zone, quoting a Pentagon acquisition report.
In late 2022, this system’s whole price was estimated in about $16 billion, with the latest estimates mentioning a price per unit of about $14 million, as a substitute of the anticipated $10 million, as reported in 2024 by Air and Area Forces Journal. A low-rate preliminary manufacturing determination is anticipated in fiscal yr 2027.
As we noticed in our earlier protection, when extremely categorised belongings like this are seen in plain daylight, it’s typically not by coincidence. The truth that the weapon was flown at low altitude in clear situations might point out that the U.S. Air Pressure needed it to be seen, as a part of a refined demonstration of functionality following latest strategic messaging from Moscow.
The Aviationist will proceed to trace additional sightings and imagery associated to the B-52’s evolving take a look at marketing campaign and its integration with the next-generation nuclear cruise missile program.
Because of Ryan Watamura for sharing the images with us. Ensure to comply with on Instagram for extra right here!
