The Air Force’s B-2 stealth bombers will begin receiving new high-speed processing subsystems under a $108 million low-rate initial production contract awarded to Northrop Grumman, announced the company on Oct. 11. This work is part of the first increment of the B-2’s Extremely High Frequency satellite communications program. “The EHF Increment 1 upgrades provide a smart, cost-effective way to enable future combat capability on the B-2,” said Ron Naylor, the company’s director of B-2 modernization and transformation. He added, “Every current and future upgrade program for the jet will benefit from the quantum leap in processing power and data-handling capacity provided by this new hardware and software.” The new hardware and software include an integrated processing unit, a high-capacity disk drive, and a network of fiberoptic cable. In July, the Increment 1 hardware and software successfully completed a series of operational tests, said Naylor. The Air Force let the contract on Sept. 28. Northrop Grumman is the B-2 prime contractor.
USAF to Cut F-35 Buy in Future Years Defense Plan
May 14, 2021
The Air Force wants to scale back buys of the F-35 over the next five years, hoping to get sustainment costs down and to wait for the more capable Block 4 version, according to talking points prepared for Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. The reduced buy will…