Upgrades to America’s only strategic airlifter, the C-5 Galaxy, continue. The C-5M Super Galaxy is the result of a two-phase modernization effort – the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP) and the Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP). Lockheed Martin delivered the 79th and final AMP C-5 last April and the eighth C-5M Super Galaxy to the USAF in July. The Air Force is upgrading 52 C-5s to C-5M configuration, with all to be operational by 2016 and expected to serve until 2040.
Bombers
Upgrades to bomber aircraft have largely been an American affair in 2012. The USAF’s high-value B-1B Lancers and B-2 Spirit bombers are receiving significant combat system updates.
The B-1B is undergoing the most advanced hardware and software upgrades the bomber has had to date as part of the Sustainment-Block 16 program. Upgrades include a fully integrated data link in the aft station and vertical situation display upgrade in the front station as well as updates to navigation, radar, and diagnostic systems.
Extensive upgrades to the Air Force’s B-2 Spirit fleet are ongoing. By the fall of 2012, Northrop Grumman had completed installation of a new classified radar system for the service’s 20 B-2s. The Radar Modernization Program joins other upgrades improving the B-2’s ability to receive updated target information during a mission and its ability to collect, process, and disseminate battlefield information with joint force commanders or other local first responders worldwide.
In September, Northrop Grumman began low rate initial production of extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications subsystems for integration into the B-2. EHF Increment 1 subsystems include an integrated processing unit (IPU) to replace the B-2’s existing stand-alone avionics computer and a disk drive unit for allowing transmission of EHF data onto and off the aircraft, as well as a fiber-optic cable network to support high-speed data transfers within the aircraft.
The upgrades are expected to provide the bomber with a high-speed data handling infrastructure that improves its ability to conduct advanced communications and weapons delivery operations.
Electronic Warfare
A new trend is emerging in the marketplace for airborne intelligence gathering platforms. Smaller, cheaper aircraft are being developed globally to take on the mission. The USAF is already an enthusiastic user of Hawker Beechcraft’s MC-12W, an ISR platform based on the firm’s civilian Super King Air 350 and Super King Air 350ER.
Forty-two MC-12Ws are in service with the Air Force and Hawker Beechcraft is reportedly fitting a version of the Super King Air 350ER with new sensors for tactical intelligence. The company is also developing a Baron G58-based intelligence collection aircraft.
An E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, also known as Joint STARS, from the 7th Expeditionary Airborne Command and Control Squadron, flies over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, May 17, 2011. The Joint STARS is an airborne battle management and command and control platform that conducts ground surveillance to develop an understanding of the enemy situation and to support attack operations and targeting that contributes to the delay, disruption and destruction of enemy forces. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. William Greer
Israel’s IAI-Elta Systems has begun marketing of its multimission airborne reconnaissance and surveillance system (Mars2) based on the Gulfstream G550 business jet. The sensor suite would combine SAR and ground moving-target indicator radar plus EO/IR, SIGINT, and C3 capability. The Mars2 builds on the company’s experience developing dedicated SIGINT and conformal airborne early warning (AEW) systems for the Israeli air force, on the Gulfstream G500 and G550.
Lockheed Martin is partnering with Austria’s Diamond Aircraft Industries on further development of its DA 42 MPP (multipurpose platform) Guardian, a surveillance platform based on the maker’s twin-engine general aviation DA 42 NG. The aircraft is specially designed for carrying easily interchangeable, multifunctional aerial sensor equipment including EO/IR gimbals for surveillance and reconnaissance missions, airborne laser scanners, or large format digital aerial cameras. The LM/Diamond Aircraft ISR version is being offered for the European Union’s Frontex border security coordination entity.
Among more conventional large EW platforms, Northrop Grumman’s E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) airborne battle management and command and control platform continues to receive sensor upgrades. The latest is the introduction of the Enhanced Land/Maritime Mode to improve accuracy of finding and fixing small targets at sea for precision-guided weapons.
The USN’s E-6B Mercury TACAMO airborne command and control aircraft are receiving integrated high-speed, secure communications and networking systems as part of a Block II modification program. The mods will allow E-6Bs to connect to secure DoD networks at high data rates while still in flight. The upgrade will enable users on board to access mission-essential, near-real-time information from worldwide sources without affecting the operational performance of the aircraft.
This article was first published in Defense: Winter 2013 Edition.