In the case of military aircraft, there is the "Boneyard," located at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (AFB) where retired aircraft are in fact preserved for such occasions. This month Minot AFB, N.D. announced that a once-retired B-52 will soon be back in action and flying high again. The strategic bomber, nicknamed "Wise Guy," has been brought back from retirement and "resurrected" for service at the base.
Minot AFB’s public affairs unit released a video on social media of Wise Guy’s arrival of the base on March 9 and noted that it will replace another B-52 that had been destroyed in a fire in Guam.Retired in 2008, and sent to the Boneyard, Wise Guy is only the second B-52H ever to be returned to duty after being sent to the Boneyard. The first, "Ghost Rider," was returned to service and sent to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana in 2015.
Not a quick process, however.
The Air Force reported that Wise Guy began its regeneration process in 2019 with the 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMRG) at the Aircraft Maintenance And Regeneration Center (AMARC), Davis-Monthan AFB before being flown to Barksdale AFB for additional repairs. It then went to Tinker AFB, Oklahoma last spring for additional depot maintenance.
With its arrival at Minot, the aircraft will receive a few more final tweaks over the next few weeks and then it will be mission ready.