The Air Force on June 5 awarded Lockheed Martin a $19.2 million contract to procure the first batch of automatic backup oxygen systems for the F-22 fleet. The service is installing A-BOS on its F-22s as an added safety measure for F-22 pilots in the wake of some Raptor pilots experiencing hypoxia-like symptoms like dizziness and disorientation in flight. These incidents led to a temporary grounding of the Raptor fleet last year. Under the terms of the contract, Lockheed Martin will provide 40 A-BOS kits for retrofit, plus non–recurring engineering activities and 10 spares, by April 2013. Last month, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta directed the Air Force to accelerate the schedule for installing A-BOS on all 185 F-22s by about a year. Under this expedited schedule, the first retrofit is planned in December, and the upgrade is expected to be completed across the F-22 fleet in June 2014, service officials have said. (See DOD’s June 5 list of major contracts.)
Earlier this week, the People’s Republic of China confirmed it is halting its nuclear arms control talks with the U.S., in retaliation for the U.S. continuing to sell arms to Taiwan. The move reinforces a “pattern of behavior” from Beijing, experts say.