, EL SEGUNDO, Calif: The US Air Force has approved Northrop Grumman Corporation's plan to begin formal development of a new satellite communication system for the B-2 stealth bomber that will eventually allow the aircraft to send and receive battlefield information up to 100 times faster than today.
Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the B-2, the flagship of the nation's arsenal of long-range strike aircraft.
The Milestone B decision by the Air Force's deputy secretary for acquisition clears the way for Northrop Grumman to undertake the system development and demonstration phase of the first increment of an extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications program for the B-2.
The first increment of that program will replace the B-2's current flight management computers with a single, integrated processing unit developed by Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, NY. The next increment will give the aircraft the ability to send and receive information at EHF frequencies, while the final increment will fully integrate the new EHF communications capabilities into the aircraft's controls and displays. The B-2's current satellite communications system operates at ultra high frequencies (UHF).
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