OKLAHOMA CITY, April 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Northrop
Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has successfully completed a major
U.S. Air Force review of a new software upgrade for the B-2 stealth
bomber.
The upgrade is part of the Air Force's Flexible Strike Phase 1
program. It is the first step in a process that will help increase
the jet's mission capabilities and reduce its maintenance
costs.
Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the
B-2, the flagship of the nation's long range strike arsenal and one
of the most survivable aircraft in the world.
"We're simplifying the software used by the B-2 to manage its
weapons," explained Dave Mazur, vice
president and B-2 program manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace
Systems. "Today we have several standalone programs that each
manage a specific type of mission. We're replacing that software
with a single program that can manage all of those mission
types."
The result, Mazur added, will be a more reliable, more
affordable way to maintain the bomber's mission readiness.
The preliminary design review (PDR) is the company's opportunity
to show the Air Force that it understands the required interactions
between the aircraft and its weapon systems, and that the new
software will manage those interactions correctly. PDR was
conducted Feb. 26-27 at Northrop
Grumman's B-2 facility in Oklahoma
City.
For the Flexible Strike Phase 1 program, the company plans to
replace multiple operational flight programs (OFP) – embedded
software that allows the B-2 to communicate accurately with the
equipment that holds and dispenses its weapons – with a single OFP.
The upgrade is expected to improve B-2 mission effectiveness.
The Flexible Strike program is the first B-2 modernization
effort to take advantage of the enhanced communications
infrastructure Northrop Grumman created for the first increment of
the B-2 EHF satellite communications program. Those improvements
included faster processors, a fiber optic network and increased
onboard data storage, all of which help the bomber manage more
information at higher speeds.
The B-2 is the only long-range, large-payload U.S. aircraft that
can penetrate deeply into access-denied airspace, and the only
combat-proven stealth platform in the current U.S. inventory. It
can fly more than 6,000 nautical miles unrefueled and more than
10,000 nautical miles with just one aerial refueling, giving it the
ability to reach any point on the globe within hours.
The latest B-2 product news and information from Northrop
Grumman is available at http://www.northropgrumman.com/B-2.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing
innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems,
cyber, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and
commercial customers worldwide. Please visit
www.northropgrumman.com for more information.
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SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation