Eli5 why does the US still use a bomber from the 1950s when they have built two newer ones since then?

Question

Eli5 why does the US still use a bomber from the 1950s when they have built two newer ones since then?

In: 7

Answer 1

Because older more intuitive engineering is not necessarily inferior to newer more computational approaches. The older approach is more durable while the newer is more cost-conscious. The older examples tend to be over-engineered in terms of capabilities: they could not be as precise, but they also didn’t need to be as efficient. So sunk costs and sticking with what works combine to make updating older designs attractive, despite the wizz-bang of newer models.