The US Air Force has signed a contract valued at $947 million with L3Harris to upgrade the self-protection and electronic warfare systems of its B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers.
The contract will allow the USAF to protect bombers and their crews against contemporary threats for the next 10 years. L3Harris will upgrade the Stratofortress's AN/ALQ-172 self-protection and electronic warfare system and integrate a combat-proven RF system that can simultaneously combat multiple electronic spectrum threats without interfering with the aircraft's operations.
“Competition for the electromagnetic spectrum is fierce, and without spectrum dominance, our armed forces lose competitive advantage,” said Ed Zoiss, president of L3Harris. “It is critical to continue upgrading our platforms to maintain spectrum superiority.” L3Harris says it has the option to expand the scope of its work from software maintenance to hardware upgrades under the new agreement.
Late last month, the USAF announced that the Rolls-Royce will supply the new engines for the B-52. These and other upgrades will allow the classic eight-engine bombers to continue operating well into the 2050s, that is, 100 years after their first flight in 1952.
