USAF Gets First Radar-Upgraded Boeing B-52 For Flight Testing
The U.S. Air Force flight test community received the first B-52 equipped with the RTX APQ-188 radar and related systems, allowing the next phase of the over-budget, $3.3 billion upgrade program to begin.
delivered the upgraded B-52 to the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB, California, the company says.
鈥淭his phase of the program is dedicated to getting it right at the start so that we can execute the full radar modernization program,鈥 said Troy Dawson, vice president for Bomber programs.
The Radar Modernization Program (RMP) involves replacing the aging APQ-166 mechanically scanned array. The new APQ-188 is composed by integrating a new version of the processor for the F-15E鈥檚 APG-82 radar with the active electronically scanned array of the F/A-18E/F鈥檚 APG-79 radar. also is upgrading the mission computers for the radar and installing two 8-in.-by-20-in. touchscreens at the navigator and radar navigator stations.
Development problems with the radome, processor and the array drove the Air Force to report a significant cost overrun of 17% earlier this year, triggering a mandatory, Pentagon-level review under the Nunn-McCurdy Act.
The RMP now becomes the first in a series of B-52 upgrades to enter flight test. The Air Force also is replacing the eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engines on each B-52 with the same number of Rolls-Royce F130s, which will improve readiness and increase range by 20%. The 70-year-old bomber also is receiving networking and munition upgrades, with the goal of keeping the fleet relevant into at least the 2050s.