Officials to start soliciting bids for lead systems integrator for electronic attack variant
Boeing will have to compete to win a previously sole-source electronic attack upgrade proposal for a portion of the US Air Force B-52H fleet, according to new government acquisition documents.
Next month, USAF officials plan to begin soliciting bids for a lead systems integrator (LSI) for the B-52H Stand-Off Jammer (SOJ) programme, formerly known as the EB-52 upgrade. The LSI's role will be to integrate two wing-tip jamming pods and associated processing and networking equipment onto a select number of B-52Hs, a platform with Boeing as the prime contractor.
The precise number of aircraft to be upgraded is still undecided, but Boeing officials have said about 16 aircraft will likely be required to accomplish the USAF's desired mission for the new electronic attack fleet. The USAF operates a fleet of about 92 B-52Hs, with another in service as a test asset with NASA.
The SOJ-equipped B-52 would be the nerve centre of a future airborne electronic attack (AEA) network. The AEA "system of systems" would include the Boeing EA-18G Growler and Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler as fighter-escort jammers.
The system also includes penetrating jammers, such as the Raytheon Miniature Air Launched Decoy-Jammer, the future Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems fleet, and Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and F/A-22 Raptor. SOJ-equipped B-52s flying in pairs would both direct the missions of escort and penetrator AEA aircraft, as well as seek to simultaneously jam and attack enemy radar sites from a standoff distance.
USAF officials hope to select an LSI vendor later this year to launch a three-year, $235 million pre-system development and demonstration (SDD) phase. That effort should lead to an SDD phase after 2008, with an initial in-service date of 2012.
A key challenge for the LSI contract winner will be meeting a listed USAF requirement for a jamming system that does not degrade the B-52H's weapons carriage capacity or capabilities.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE / ORLANDO
Source: Flight International
