Rockwell Collins will upgrade the communication and navigation gear in the Air Force’s fleet of EC-130H electronic warfare aircraft, announced the company on Tuesday. The new communication, navigation, and surveillance/air traffic management equipment will “meet present and future civil airspace requirements,” said Troy Brunk, Rockwell Collins’ general manager of airborne solutions, in the company’s May 7 release. Rockwell is a subcontractor to L-3, which is the prime vendor for this work. The CNS/ATM gear will also address issues with diminishing manufacturing sources, thereby lowering lifecycle costs, according to the release. “This program will provide Air Force EC-130H pilots with some of the most advanced communication and navigation equipment along with improved situational awareness to help them accomplish their missions,” states the release.
Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, celebrated the beddown of its full complement of F-35s with a ceremony just weeks after the base received the last of its 54 fighters. The arrival of those F-35s in mid-April gave Eielson the Air Force’s second fully-equipped, combat-coded F-35 wing, comprising two fighter squadrons.…