B-52 Bomber
Boeing has been awarded a $24.6 million contract by the US Air Force to upgrade the fleet of the Boeing B-52 bomber so as to enhance the aircraft’s smart weapons capacity by 50 per cent. This will significantly increase the B-52 bomber’s effectiveness and versatility. Boeing will develop a modification to existing weapon launchers so the aircraft can carry smart weapons in the bomb bay, allowing aircrew to exploit the total weapons carrying capability of the B-52. The bomb bay upgrade will also result in significant increase in fuel efficiency in flight owing to reduction in drag.
Boeing will produce three prototype launchers for test and evaluation. Initial capability is expected in March 2016 and potential follow-on efforts could add additional weapons and allow a mixed load of different types of weapons. Following the upgrade’s first phase, the B-52 will be able to carry 24 500-lbs Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) or 20 2,000-lbs JDAMs. Later phases will add the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) and its Extended Range variant (JASSM-ER), as well as the Miniature Air Launched Decoy (MALD) and its jammer variant (MALD/J).
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