RAYTHEON WINS B-52 RADAR CONTRACT
AESA TECHNOLOGY WILL IMPROVE MAPPING AND DETECTION
B
OEING HAS SELECTED
Raytheon to provide a
new active
electronically scanned
array (AESA) radar for the
US Air Force’s fleet
of B-52H Stratofortress bombers.
Based on Raytheon’s APG-79/
APG-82 family, the new system will
replace the current AN/APQ-
and is designed to improve
mapping and detection range,
additionally increasing the number of
targets the aircraft can engage
simultaneously.Boeing is the prime contractor
responsible for the B-52’s radar
modernization program (RMP)
and Raytheon will design, develop,
produce and sustain the radar
systems for the entire fleet. Low-rate
production is scheduled to begin
in 2024 and the system will achieve
initial operational capability in 2025.
It’s the latest in a series of
modifications that are keeping the
B-52 credible and relevant in the
modern era. The USAF’s program
executive officer for fighters and
bombers recently indicated that thebombers would likely be assigned
the new designation B-52J when
all of the planned upgrades have
been incorporated. The service
still aims to provide aircraft with
new engines in addition to other
ongoing improvements that include
digital systems, communications,
new weapons, and the new radar.
The service is reportedly also
considering rationalizing the number
of crewmembers assigned to the
bomber following the incorporation
of more advanced systems that are
dramatically reducing workload.NEW HERCULES FOR
‘BLUE ANGELS’
US NAVAL AIR Systems Command
(NAVAIR) has confirmed the purchase
of a C-130J that will support
the Naval Flight Demonstration
Squadron the ‘Blue Angels’. The
former Royal Air Force Hercules C5 is
being acquired from the UK Ministry
of Defence at a contract cost of $29.
million and is scheduled for delivery
in spring 2020. Like its predecessors,
the aircraft will be known as Fat Albertand will be operated by a US Marine
Corps crew. The service believes
that the acquisition of the used
aircraft will save around $50 million
when compared with the purchase
of a new C-130J. The navy received
approval to purchase the C-130J
using proceeds from Foreign Military
Sales in March 2018. It will replace
the team’s C-130T, which was retired
in May 2019.IN BRIEF
USAF plans for E-11As
The Air Force Life Cycle
Management Center’s (AFLCMC)
Aerial Networks Division is seeking
sources that can provide up to
five new Bombardier Global 6000
aircraft to support the Battlefield
Airborne Communications Node
(BACN) Program Office. The effort
calls for the delivery of one aircraft
annually over a period of five years
for conversion to the E-11A BACN
configuration.Minotaur Herc delivered
The US Coast Guard accepted
its tenth HC-130J long-range
surveillance (LRS) aircraft equipped
with the Minotaur Mission SystemSuite (MSS+) on June 25. The
aircraft had previously received
a legacy MSS and integration of
the new Minotaur on HC-130J, tail
number 2002, was completed at L
Technologies Integrated Systems
Platform Integration Division in
Waco, Texas. After departing Waco,
the upgraded HC-130J was flown
to Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth
City, North Carolina. The last of the
HC-130Js to be equipped with the
original system was inducted into
the Minotaur MSS modification
program in Waco in March 2019.
The service now has 13 HC-130Js in
service and three more are on order
or in production.E-3 Sentry milestone
The 552nd Air Control Wing and
Boeing recently completed InternetProtocol Enabled Communications
(IPEC) program modifications on
the 12th E-3G Airborne Warning
and Control System aircraft,
meaning that half of the planned
modifications are complete. IPEC
is one of several upgrades for the
Block 40/45 version of the Sentry. It
provides a satellite-based, internet
protocol-enabled communications
package that operates over high
bandwidth in classified and multi-
domain networks. The system
provides connectivity to E-3G
aircraft that enables simultaneous
chat, Air Tasking Order, Airspace
Control Order, e-mail with
attachments, and website
download capability.US Navy flight demo changes
Citing a shortage of funds, the USNavy has canceled the remainder
of strike fighter squadron VFA-106’s
2019 Tactical Demonstration
(TACDEMO) schedule. The
squadron had been due to
conduct eight demonstrations in
2019 and had already completed
three. Meanwhile, VFA-122’s
‘Tailhook Legacy Team’, which has
32 demonstrations on its 2019
schedule, will continue to fly the
rest of their season. The two units
respectively serve as the east
and west coast fleet replacement
squadrons for the F/A-18E/F Super
Hornet.
In related news, the US Navy
has given tentative approval for
the F-35C to conduct aerobatic
demonstrations at between eight
and 10 airshows during the 2020
season.T-X FLIGHT-TESTING RESUMES
BOEING BEGAN ENGINEERING,
manufacturing and development
flight-testing associated with the
T-X trainer program on July 1 when
the first prototype (registration
N381TX) returned to the air in St
Louis, Missouri. The work is being
conducted using the two company-
funded prototypes. Although
detailed design of the T-X is still
under way, Boeing says there will be
no differences in the EMD version’s
outer mold line when compared
with the prototypes. The programexpects to conduct a critical design
review for the EMD design by the
end of 2019. Construction of the
EMD trainers will follow.
Since receiving the $9.2-billion
contract in September 2018, Boeing
modified the prototypes with Collins
Aerospace ACES ejection seats
and an updated on-board oxygen
generating system (OBOGS) as
well as other minor changes. The
program includes a minimum of
351 aircraft and 42 ground-based
training systems.UNITED STATES [NEWS]
http://www.combataircraft.net // September 2019 09
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