The Air Force will get its first peek this week at a new single avionics unit being designed by Northrop Grumman to replace 21 unique B-2 stealth bomber systems, the company announced Feb. 5. “One of the most powerful features of the common processor is that it will allow B-2 maintainers to use one common set of test equipment,” said Dave Mazur, vice president and B-2 program manager at Northrop. “This approach will reduce avionics sustainment costs and help improve aircraft availability,” he added. Northrop Grumman was awarded the $43.5 million contract to eliminate obsolete and increasingly difficult-to-source electronics with a standard, reconfigurable component last August. The B-2’s Audio Central Distribution Unit will be the first system replaced over the 43-month project, according to the company.
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.