Boeing has finished installing Block E avionics modification kits on the Air Force’s fleet of 67 B-1B bombers, also called Bones. The installation marked the end of the conventional mission upgrade program that began in 1993 to convert the B-1 from a nuclear to a conventional role. According to a Boeing press release, the modification included replacing six computers with four, improving throughput, memory and increasing conventional weapons capability. The modification allows for wind-corrected munitions dispenser, joint standoff weapon, and joint air-to-surface standoff munition weapons integration.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.