Today, all commercial passenger airliners have only two engines (the B-747 and Airbus A380 are out of production), so why does the B-52 Stratofortress not have four, not six, but eight engines? While there are many examples of six-engine aircraft (including those from WW2 times), there are few examples of military aircraft with eight jet engines. With the B-52Hs about to be upgraded to the B-52J, the B-52 will continue to be the backbone of the US strategic bomber fleet and will continue to be the only example of a US Air Force eight-engined jet aircraft for many years to come.