The Air Force has budgeted approximately $250 million for a roughly two-year pre-system development and demonstration risk-reduction effort. It is anticipated that up to 16 B-52H aircraft will be equipped as fully mission capable for electronic attack.

It is also envisioned that all operational B-52s will receive new electronic-support measures in a program worth as much as $3 billion.

"Our Air Force is confronting a need to modernize its suppression-of-enemy-air-defenses capabilities while addressing the asymmetric requirements of its mission within the global struggle against violent extremism," said Patricia McMahon, vice president of electronic warfare programs for Northrop Grumman's Integrated Systems sector.

"This requires an airborne electronic-attack solution that is integrated into the larger Air Force network-centric warfare environment. It's a system-of-systems solution dependent upon sophisticated mission-management software and Electronic Warfare Battle Management (EWBM) that is a core competency of Northrop Grumman."

The Northrop Grumman EWBM solution for the Air Force starts with integrated receivers, jamming pods and mission-management software onboard B-52s. Each B-52 stand-off jammer will be equipped for preemptive and selective-reactive electronic attack.

Other onboard capabilities will include the integration and optimization of its own weaponry with that of other B-52s in the battlespace and the ability to task and draw information from off-board assets such as EA-6Bs, EA-18Gs, J-UCAS and MALD-J.

When connected to the global information grid, the Northrop Grumman EWBM system-of-systems architecture will provide information, tactics and assignments to multiple command levels, leading to a fully integrated kinetic- (missiles and other ordnance) and non-kinetic- (electronic-jamming) attack capability.

"A stack of black boxes does not meet the mission," said McMahon. "It takes the algorithms that link them with the sensors and shooters to help the battle managers win the war. That's what EWBM is all about and Northrop Grumman has been doing that for four decades."

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express