The Air Force is investigating the applicability of an existing radar system as a potential replacement to the current AN/APQ-166 radar used on its force of 76 B-52H bombers. In a request for information to industry posted at the Federal Business Opportunities Web site in November, the service said the APQ-166—a mechanically scanned array system fielded in the 1950s and last upgraded in the early 1980s—is “approaching the end of its useful life.” Forecasts are that the radar “will become unsupportable beginning in the 2016 timeframe,” states the RFI. The Air Force is therefore interested in a replacement system that would be available for initial delivery in Fiscal 2016. It must have a “minimum lifecycle through the 2040 timeframe,” according to the solicitation.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.