April 25--Northrop Grumman Corp. has completed a major U.S. Air Force review of a new software upgrade for the B-2 stealth bomber. The preliminary design review was conducted in February at Northrop Grumman's B-2 facility in Oklahoma City.
Stewart's specially designed photography drone turned a lot of heads recently whizzing above the headgates of the Augusta Canal.
Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the B-2.
Simplifying software program
"We're simplifying the software used by the B-2 to manage its weapons," said Dave Mazur, vice president and B-2 program manager, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Today we have several stand-alone 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."
For the Flexible Strike Phase 1 program, the company plans to replace multiple operational flight programs -- embedded software that allows the B-2 to communicate accurately with the equipment that holds and dispenses its weapons -- with a single program.
The B-2, a long-range, large-payload aircraft, is 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.
Copyright 2014 - The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City
