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.
The Air National Guardsman who was arrested last year for sharing hundreds of top secret and classified documents to online chatrooms was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on Nov. 12 after pleading guilty to several charges this March.