MigBuster 2,884 Posted June 27, 2008 B-52 Airborne Electronic Attack Technical Maturation Contract awarded Written on June 27, 2008 – 9:25 pm | by FIDSNS | The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a $14.9 million contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop and mature technologies required to enable airborne electronic attack from long distances, filling the stand-off electronic attack role. The contract includes systems engineering studies focusing on potential pod installation on the B-52H aircraft, as the designated demonstration airframe. This effort will advance the technology required for the planned Core Component Jammer (CCJ). “We look forward to maturing the planned CCJ technology, which will keep our warfighters safer as they complete missions in the air and on the ground,” said Scot Oathout, director of B-52 Programs for Boeing. “This is the first step in getting this capability fielded, and the B-52H is the right platform to mature this technology.” The multi-mission B-52H is the only platform in the Air Force inventory that accommodates all necessary attributes for jamming electronic attacks while delivering its full complement of weapons, including responsiveness, range, loiter time, size and power. “Adding this capability to the B-52H will strengthen its position as the most versatile aircraft in the U.S. inventory,” said Jeff Weis, CCJ program manager for Boeing. “The B-52 will still be able to deliver precision weapons on target while protecting other allied forces in theater.” The Boeing-led team will employ the electronic-attack expertise of Bethpage, N.Y.-based Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems. After successful completion of this initial three-year effort, a follow-on effort to demonstrate in-flight, stand-off jamming on the B-52 is scheduled for 2011-2012. from Article Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Klavs81 4 Posted June 27, 2008 (edited) This mature! Edited June 27, 2008 by Klavs81 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MigBuster 2,884 Posted June 27, 2008 Now that looks like the type of thing that would appear in a Dale Brown fantasy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jodandawg 18 Posted June 27, 2008 holy crap batman!! the sight of that beast could scare an enemy away without shooting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nesher 628 Posted June 27, 2008 what kind of attack...? LOL it sounds like more than jamming pods, or am I wrong? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparkomatic 7 Posted June 27, 2008 funny thing about this article...referenced program was already canceled...put it in the stack with the re-engining program they have been discussing for 23 years (or more) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rambler 1-1 9 Posted June 28, 2008 Is it just me, or is this the plane I read about in a cheap paperback printed 20 years ago, but minus the laser turrets and charged-ion cannon? Another thing is how thay said the B-52 is the most versatile aircraft in USAF inventory, and it's a 50 year old leviathan of a bomber, the US equivilant of a Star Destroyer. If you ask, I'm sure the Navy will inform you that the most versatile aircraft they have is the F-18 (and it's various unholy devil-spawn that are taking over the roles of my favorite aircraft GRRR!!!!), which is significantly smaller, lighter, more moderen and more useful than a lumbering B-52. Not saying that the air force is out-dated, but it kinda looks that way, huh? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparkchaser2010 24 Posted June 30, 2008 The B-52 is outdated, they just don't have a replacement nor do they ssem to want one. I've been working it for 2 years now and it is too old and too heavily modified. Causes some real PITA work. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparkomatic 7 Posted June 30, 2008 One thing one must note though is that it is only alive still because of the community...those guys will take on anything...NOT saying that "other" bombers wont...but you have to give credit to those guys...if they honestly thought it would prolong their beloved leviathan, they would convert it into a tanker in 0.3 seconds...bolt a radome on top of it and call it Buff-WACS...they will do it. So that is part of it I think, the attitude of the community. Again, not scruffing the guys with the sexiest airplane with four afterburners (they know who they are) for that is one mean killing machine...just BUFFS are, well, BUFFs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JediMaster 451 Posted June 30, 2008 No, the B-1B and B-2A were both replacements for the B-52. The problem is we didn't buy enough of either to make retiring them attractive. The B-1B was only supposed to be interim until the B-2A anyway, yet we sent a significant amount into storage so we could afford to upgrade the ones we kept in service. As for the B-2A, no doubt we seriously bought too few of those. Yet no one wanted to pay for anything in the 90s... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sparkomatic 7 Posted July 1, 2008 If by "storage" you mean gutted and put in museums... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
