Eight people were killed when a U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base, California, on June 15, destroying the test aircraft for the service’s B-52 Radar Modernization Program.
BREAKING: Initial reports indicate a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress crashed shortly after takeoff from Edwards Air Force Base. Emergency crews are responding to the scene. Details remain limited. pic.twitter.com/3NT4P06Mph
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) June 15, 2026
The aircraft went down on the Edwards airfield at 11:20 a.m. PDT during a routine test mission supporting the Radar Modernization Program (RMP). “It was tragic and unsurvivable,” Col. James Hayes, Deputy Commander of the 412th Test Wing, said at a press conference. The crew included military personnel, government civilians, and government contractors, Chief Master Sgt. Joshua T. Skarloken confirmed.
Unconfirmed reports identified the aircraft as tail number 60-0061, which Edwards Air Force Base confirmed in December 2025 as the first B-52H to receive the AN/APQ-188 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar following a ferry flight from Boeing’s San Antonio facility.
The Air Force has not confirmed the tail number of the crashed aircraft. If accurate, the loss eliminates the only RMP-equipped test aircraft, potentially delaying a fleet-wide production decision planned for later in 2026. The Air Force had already scaled back portions of the RMP in March 2026, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported.
Hayes said the cause has not been determined and investigations could take up to six months. While the base remains accessible to essential personnel, the airfield remains closed with flight operations suspended through Tuesday due to runway damage.
Update- 12:48 PDT: The airfield has been closed, and all inbound aircraft are being diverted.
All non-commercial visitor passes have been suspended until further notice to allow the installation to focus entirely on emergency response operations.
— Edwards Air Force Base (@EdwardsAFB) June 15, 2026
The B-52H has not been in production since 1962, meaning any replacement airframe must be sourced from retired aircraft stored at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, as was done following a non-fatal 2016 crash at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
The Air Force’s fleet stands at 75 B-52Hs following the crash. The last fatal B-52 accident occurred in 2008, when six personnel died after their bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Guam.
