US sending nuclear-capable B-52 bombers to ISIS fight

The behemoth B-52 Stratofortress is the biggest bomber that the Air Force flies -- so big that it takes 32 airmen more than 12 hours to wash one. (U.S. Air Force / Master Sgt. Lance Cheung)

The United States is sending nuclear-capable B-52 aircraft to drop bombs on the Islamic State terror group, defense officials confirmed to Fox News Friday.

The B-52 Stratofortress will start its first bombing campaign against ISIS in April, the Air Force Times reports. It's not clear how many B-52s or airmen will be involved.

Officials say the aircraft will replace nuclear-capable B-1 Lancers hitting ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria.

The Lancers returned to home bases in the U.S. in January. They flew only 3% of all strike missions against ISIS, but had dropped 40% of the bombs and other munitions. B-1s could loiter over the battlefield for 10 hours, much longer than jet fighters, and also could fly supersonic, reaching targets across Iraq and Syria within minutes.

“The B-1s are rotated out, so they're not here right now, they've gone back to do some upgrades," Lieutenant General Charles Q. Brown Jr., commander at U.S. Air Forces Central Command, told reporters.

Each B-52 can carry up to 70,000 pounds of payload, officials say. The aircraft, sometimes nicknamed the "Big Ugly Fat Fella," first took to the skies in 1954 and regularly takes part in military exercises around the world.

The B-52s are based in Louisiana and North Dakota.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.