Military Power

Should the B-52 be replaced? And if so, then what would the criteria be for its replacement?

I think it should be retired, not so sure about replaced. The main mission for the B-52 is carpet bombing, which it is excellent at, but which is not really being done anymore. The B-52 is one of 3 "heavy" bombers (B-1 and B-2 are the others), and by far the oldest. If you are going to "replace" the B-52s you should do it with more of the other 2. Any new "heavy" bombers should be designed for carrying cruise missiles and guided bombs primarily.

I think that the B-52 has outlived it's usefulness. It needs to be replaced. I think KnightTemplar is right in that it needs to be designed around cruise missiles and guided weapons. Stealth and speed are other key things it needs, though maybe range over speed.

Well, I do agree that the days of dropping hundreds of bombs on a target to hopefully destroy it are gone, though, I can still see some uses for a system capable of "carpet bombing" so it is kind of a toss up for me. I think that at minimum it should have an updated automatic targeting system. I know the technology is there for it, but maybe not the need.

I have to disagree Goliath. I don't think there is a need for such a system. What are the ones you can see?