August 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By Lee Hudson
PALMDALE, California— The U.S. Air Force is taking lessons learned from the plagued B-2 Spirit bomber development program and applying them to the next-generation B-21 Raider.
While it is unknown when the B-2 will retire, the aging stealth bomber may end up flying alongside the B-21.
The B-2 bomber flew its inaugural flight 30 years ago from the Plant 42 runway here. Today, the Northrop Grummansite is preparing for development of the Raider and two newly erected beige buildings have popped up, likely tied to the next-generation bomber.
Although technical and acquisition problems inundated B-2 development, the classified B-21 is taking a different approach. Many details remain classified, but the company and service officials acknowledge the team is being run by the Rapid Capabilities Office instead of a traditional program office.
B-21 development appears to be progressing; the Air Force's No. 2 officer—Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson—has said first flight is slated for December 2021. But House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) alerted the public last year that there was a problem with the inlet design for the B-21's Pratt & Whitney-manufactured engines. Wittman says those issues were fully addressed and the program has made tremendous progress.
“I've been pretty impressed by what both the Air Force and what Northrop Grumman have done in addressing these particular issues and I think we're on the right course,” he says. “Getting those things right to begin with and setting the tone and path I think is critically important.”
An Air Force illustration issued in 2016 of the B-21 design suggests it may closely resemble the B-2. “The B-2 will be setting the path course for the B-21,” says Janis Pamiljans, aerospace systems sector president at Northrop Grumman. “What we've learned on B-2 are finding themselves baselined in the design for B-21 for supportability, sustainability, [and] mission capable rate.”
The aging B-2s must be overhauled every nine years and are taken off the flight line for up to 12 months. Maintenance includes modifications and upgrades to antenna technology, avionics and software systems, costing U.S. taxpayers an average of $60 million for each aircraft, says Richard Sullivan, vice president and B-2 program manager at Northrop Grumman.
Separately, the Air Force is funding the $3 billion B-2 Defensive Management System Modernization (DMS-M) program to enhance the aircraft's direct attack capability and upgrade its integrated air defense systems. The current DMS was designed in the 1980s and has not received any upgrades.
“By leveraging ‘state-of-the-art' electronic warfare antennae, processors, controller and displays, B-2 aircrews will realize unprecedented situational battlespace awareness and dynamic, real-time threat avoidance in the most complex radio frequency emitter environments,” the Air Force says. “The inherent increased sensitivity of the modernized DMS over the legacy system, with increased processing power, will build a battlespace picture that could be shared with joint force platforms by onboard communication systems.”
DMS-M is facing a possible eight-month delay as the service works with Northrop Grumman to implement an agile software development framework, Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper told lawmakers in March. Engineering and manufacturing development for the effort goes through July 2022, according to fiscal 2020 budget documents.
Lawmakers acknowledge it is important that the nation's only operational stealth bomber remain relevant. But the House Armed Services Committee is concerned about DMS-M schedule delays, according to a report accompanying the lower chamber's mark of the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill.
“Unless the B-2 DMS-M program makes significant changes, there may continue to be delays that will impact the success of the program,” the report says. The committee directs the Air Force to brief members on sufficient government software development expertise; contract definitization schedule; delivery schedule; determination of software baseline; and an assessment of related DMS-M-related program support.
The Senate Armed Services Committee also is asking for answers regarding the U.S. bomber force. The upper chamber is requesting a brief on an updated bomber road map and plans for B-2 life cycle sustainment, among other items, according to a report accompanying the Senate's mark of the fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill. The upper chamber also would require details on Raider basing.
To date, the service has been “real[ly] happy with the way Northrop has approached” the B-21 program, says Maj. Gen. James Dawkins, Eighth Air Force commander and overseer of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center. The next-generation bomber completed a successful critical design review in December.
“Everything I hear is that cost, schedule and performance is right on expectations,” Dawkins says.
https://aviationweek.com/defense/b-21-development-applying-tough-lessons-b-2
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By: Shawn Snow The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to dish out millions for a Marine light attack aircraft and the Corps' futuristic sea drone, known as the MUX. The committee voted 25-2 on May 24 to give $100 million for a Marine light attack aircraft and $100 million for the MUX sea drone in its markup of the fiscal year 2019 annual defense legislation. The Air Force is still in pursuit of a light attack aircraft. Two aircraft, Textron Aviation's AT-6 Wolverine and the A-29 Super Tucano, are currently undergoing three months of demonstrations, which kicked off in May at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. So, what will the Corps choose? “The Marine Corps is monitoring the Air Force-led Light Attack Experiment to procure a cost-effective, observation and attack (OA-X) air platform for employment in permissive environments, with the intent to employ such an asset as a joint force capability,” Marine spokesman Capt. Christopher Harrison told Marine Corps Times in an email. “The SASC's decision to authorize $100 million for a light attack platform is only reflected in a policy bill ― nothing has been appropriated to this program yet.” Light attack aircraft are seen as a cost-effective means to deliver close-air support in more permissive environments like Iraq and Afghanistan. The A-29 Super Tucano is already fielded by the Afghan air force. Military officials in the past have come under criticism for using expensive aircraft to destroy low key targets. For instance, on Nov. 20, 2017, an F-22 Raptor was used for the first time in Afghanistan, to destroy a narcotics lab. Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the F-22 was selected because of its ability to carry the small diameter bomb. As for the MUX, the Corps submitted a request for information in March that spelled out some details the Marine Corps wants in its new futuristic drone. The Corps is looking for a drone to compliment the long distances of some of its other aircraft like the MV-22. According to the March RFI, the Marines want the MUX to be able to fly 700 nautical miles and carry a 9,500-pound payload. The Corps wants its future sea drone to have strike capabilities, surveillance and electronic warfare. Military.com first reported that the Senate Armed Services Committee voted to give $100 million for a Marine light attack aircraft. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/your-marine-corps/2018/06/04/is-a-light-attack-aircraft-coming-to-the-corps/