Boeing and Rockwell Collins have turned in their proposals for phase 2 of the Air Force’s common range integrated instrumentation system program. Boeing announced its submittal in a release May 19, while Rockwell Collins spokesman Dave Gosch confirmed this to the Daily Report on Monday. The Air Force is expected to choose a winner in September. Under CRIIS, the service seeks to replace the 1980s-era advanced range data system at USAF, Army, and Navy test ranges with new equipment that provides better data-collection capability, safety features, and ability to accurately evaluate complex new weapons that have increasingly greater ranges and broader effects. Both companies have been maturing their respective concepts for the past two years under phase 1 contracts. The Air Force expects to field the first increment of CRIIS in mid decade.
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.