U.S. Air Force/Master Sgt. Ralph Hallmon/AP Do you remember when the defense industry could actually build airplanes? Not just build airplanes, but mass produce them in large numbers? Of course you don’t. Over time, military aircraft have become so complicated and defense industry has become so impervious to outside forces that you probably weren’t born when the United States could actually build tough, reliable and relatively low cost airplanes. Look no further than the B-52, also known as the “BUFF” for “Big, Ugly, Fat F*cker.” Boeing built more than 700 of the bombers between 1952 and 1962 and the Air Force expects to keep flying the BUFF until the 2050s.