Stealth bombing until 2058: B-2 receiving massive upgrade for future missions
Northrop Wins $9.9 Billion Contract For B-2 Bomber...
Northrop
Grumman Corp has won a five-year contract valued at up to $9.9 billion
from the U.S. Air Force to modernize and support the B-2 stealth bomber,
the Pentagon announced on Tuesday. The...
A B-2 Spirit multi-role bomber conducts air refueling operations with a KC-135 ... more >
The Air Force
is going to make sure everyone’s favorite bat-winged bomber stays
stealth through 2058. The B-2 Spirit will be included in upcoming
modernization planning being conducted by the Pentagon.
Northrop Grumman has a contract with the Pentagon to complete a massive upgrade on the nuclear bomber. Its $9.9 billion contract will include new computer
processors, avionics, radar warning receivers and communications gear, the defense website military.com reported Wednesday
“We’re re-hosting the flight management control processors, the brains of the airplane, onto a much more capable integrated processing unit. We’re laying in some new fiber optic cable as opposed to the mix bus cable we are using right now. The B-2’s computers from the 80s are getting maxed out and overloaded with data,” said Eric Single, chief of the Global Strike division for Air Force acquisition, military.com reported.
America’s fleet of 21 B-2 bombers was first produced in 1989 at a cost of $2.2 billion per plane. Each plane can also carry a payload of 40,000 pounds.
“This is a Cold War machine with 1980s computers. The Cold War was great for aerospace, but the computers are still stuck in the 80s. It is amazing the level of performance
you can get by modernizing those systems,” said Richard Aboulafia,
vice president of analysis, Teal Group, a Virginia-based
consultancy, military.com reported.
Northrop Grumman has a contract with the Pentagon to complete a massive upgrade on the nuclear bomber. Its $9.9 billion contract will include new computer
processors, avionics, radar warning receivers and communications gear, the defense website military.com reported Wednesday“We’re re-hosting the flight management control processors, the brains of the airplane, onto a much more capable integrated processing unit. We’re laying in some new fiber optic cable as opposed to the mix bus cable we are using right now. The B-2’s computers
from the 80s are getting maxed out and overloaded with data,” said Eric Single, chief of the Global Strike division for Air Force acquisition, military.com reported.America’s fleet of 21 B-2 bombers was first produced in 1989 at a cost of $2.2 billion per plane. Each plane can also carry a payload of 40,000 pounds.
“This is a Cold War machine with 1980s computers. The Cold War was great for aerospace, but the computers are still stuck in the 80s. It is amazing the level of performance
you can get by modernizing those systems,” said Richard Aboulafia,
vice president of analysis, Teal Group, a Virginia-based
consultancy, military.com reported.Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jun/25/stealth-bombing-until-2058-b-2-receiving-massive-u/#ixzz35rZhBzgZ
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