Air Force Contract Awarded to Boeing for B-1B Bomber Defensive Upgrades.SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 2, 1997--The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a $216 million contract with award fee to upgrade defensive systems on the B-1B Lancer bomber, thereby increasing the survivability of the aircraft and its crews in combat. The contract provides for engineering and manufacturing development (EMD EMD Electromechanical dissociation, see there ) of a new defensive system for the B-1B. Improvements to the B-1B's defensive systems will enhance the bomber's capability to survive in a hostile environment. In addition, the new systems are less expensive to operate and maintain. "Under this contract, Boeing will deliver a dramatic improvement in the B-1B's situational awareness, expendable countermeasures, and on- and off-board jamming capabilities," said Jean Chamberlin, director of bomber programs for Boeing. "This is consistent with our near-term objective to help our customer enhance the B-1B's conventional warfighting capabilities." The B-1B Defensive System Upgrade Program (DSUP DSUP Defense System Upgrade Program DSUP Detective Superintendent ) is one element of the Air Force's overall B-1B conventional mission upgrade program (CMUP CMUP Conventional Munitions Upgrade Program ). The work covered under the new contract is sometimes referred to as "CMUP Block F." Howard Chambers, Boeing vice president and B-1B program manager, said that work on the contract will be done at Boeing facilities in Seal Beach, Palmdale and Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. , Calif.; Seattle; and Oklahoma City under the direction of the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center, Dayton, Ohio. The EMD contract calls for integration of the integrated defensive electronic countermeasures system, or IDECM IDECM Integrated Defensive Electronic Countermeasures , and installation of an ALR ALR Administrative License Revocation ALR Agricultural Land Reserve (Canada) ALR Automatic Locking Retractor (seat belts) ALR Australian Law Reports (University of Tasmania Library) 56M radar warning receiver “RWR” redirects here. For other uses, see RWR (disambiguation). Typically fitted to military aircraft, radar warning receivers (RWR) detect the radio emissions of radar systems, whether ground-based or on-board other aircraft. . The EMD phase is scheduled for completion in 2002 at the conclusion of flight testing at Edwards Air Force Base. Production and installation of the improvements on the 95-aircraft B-1B fleet is scheduled to begin in 2003. DSUP upgrades will ensure the B-1B's survivability well into the 21st century. Major subcontractors to Boeing for the Block F work are Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Co. that will perform as the IDECM and ALR-56M system integrator, and the Collins Communications and Avionics Division of Rockwell. CONTACT: Boeing North American Inc., Seal Beach Mike Mathews, 562/797-2996 http://www.boeing.com |
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