BECAUSE it has the Electronic Warfare suite to totally suppress all (or nearly all) RF in an area the size of New England....
“I very much doubt that. The BUFF hasn’t flown in combat against modern threats—not even an SA-10. Its actual performance against some of the latest threats may be known, but I wouldn’t bet my life on the EW package.”
You can believe it; the EW suite has been kept up-to-date — and oh BTW, the B-52 had not yet flown against any of the “latest threats” in 1972, right before they went in and pulverized the most heavily defended area in the world, Hanoi, and that was done at 30,000 feet. Are you really sure that U.S. aircraft haven’t already practiced flying against the SA-10? Don’t be.