The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman [NOC] a $108 million low-rate initial production (LRIP) contract Sept. 28 to provide its fleet of B-2 stealth bombers with new high-speed processing subsystems, according to a company statement.
The new hardware and software, which include an integrated processing unit, a high-capacity disk drive and a network of fiber optic cable, will allow the aircraft to perform advanced communications and weapons delivery in the future. The new subsystems are being produced as part of Increment 1 of the Air Force’s B-2 extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications program.
In late July, the EHF Increment 1 hardware and software successfully completed a series of operational tests conducted by the Air Force. Northrop Grumman is also beginning to install the new subsystems in a limited number of aircraft as part of the current EHF Increment 1 system development and demonstration contract.
Each new EHF Increment 1 hardware kit includes:
* An integrated processing unit that will replace up to a dozen current stand-alone avionics computers on the B-2.
* A disk drive unit developed by Honeywell [HON] that will enable transfer of EHF data onto and off the B-2.
* A network of fiber optic cable that will support the high-speed data transfers within the aircraft.
There are two other possible increments in addition to Increment 1. Increment 2 involves installation of a new communications terminal and the advanced electronically scanned array (AESA) antenna. The Air Force last year awarded Northrop Grumman a $372 million contract to begin designing the AESA antenna system (Defense Daily, May 11, 2011).
Increment 3 was to integrate the B-2 into the Defense Department’s Global Information Grid (GIG), but a Northrop Grumman spokesman said the Air Force has made changes to how, and when, it expects the program to proceed in terms of funding and technologies used (Defense Daily, Aug. 24).