Boeing B-1 Upgraded With Fully Integrated Data Link Completes 1st Flight

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Boeing B-1 Upgraded With Fully Integrated Data Link Completes 1st Flight
UNITED STATES - 13 AUGUST 2009

LONG BEACH, Calif., Aug. 13, 2009 -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] on July 29 successfully completed the first flight of a B-1 bomber upgraded with the Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL). This upgrade includes new processors, color displays and communications architecture, enhancing B-1 crews' situational awareness and communications capability. The U.S. Air Force 419th Test Squadron conducted the flight from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

The objective of the FIDL development program is to enhance the B-1 bomber by integrating beyond line-of-sight and line-of-sight data links. The data links reduce crew workload by dynamically re-tasking missions, eliminating the need for steps such as manual entry of weapons data for targeting.

In addition to the cockpit upgrades, the modification also improves and more tightly integrates the aft crew stations by replacing displays and associated hardware that were installed during aircraft production in the early 1980s. Additional upgrades include new open-architecture processors, mass-storage capability and an Ethernet network to integrate the aircraft's systems.

Boeing personnel at Edwards Air Force Base have been modifying the test aircraft over the past year. B-1 program employees at Edwards, at the Boeing facility in Long Beach and in other locations developed and integrated the new system's hardware and software.

"Our team worked closely with the Air Force and many other programs throughout Boeing as we performed independent reviews of product designs and gained valuable insight from employees performing similar development tasks," said Mahesh Reddy, Boeing B-1 program manager. "This cross-company teamwork led to our successful first flight, which brings us one step closer to completing this major B-1 upgrade for our customer."

Flight testing will continue through 2010. The Air Force is expected to award a contract in November 2010 for the production of FIDL installation kits for the service's entire B-1 fleet.


Source: The Boeing Company

 

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The 419th Flight Test Squadron conducted the first functional check flight of a B-1B Lancer which underwent two years of modifications on Edwards AFB July 30. The bomber was upgraded with the Fully Integrated Data Link which allows it to communicate quickly with others in the entire battlespace and allows it to become a more powerful asset to U.S. warfighters. Both Air Force and Boeing testers at Edwards worked to develop and integrate the hardware and software that make up the FIDL system.



Archive Photo: B-1B Lancer Bomber (U.S. Air Force)

 

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Boeing Receives Follow-on Contract to Upgrade B-1 Bomber's Avionics Software
UNITED STATES - 29 OCTOBER 2009

LONG BEACH, Calif., Oct. 29, 2009 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] today announced it has received an $84 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for additional upgrades of the B-1 bomber fleet's avionics software.

The award continues a software-sustainment program that has continually updated and improved the B-1's operational capabilities since the aircraft entered service in 1989. This new contract authorizes Boeing to start work on Sustainment Block 16 (SB 16).

Each software sustainment block includes changes to navigation; weapon delivery; radar; electrical multiplexing; communication/navigation management system software; and controls and displays. Boeing engineers in Long Beach and Oklahoma City deliver the latest avionics software once a year for the Air Force's fleet of 66 B-1s. SB 14 is in flight test at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and will be delivered to the Air Force in 2011. SB 15 will be delivered in 2012, and design and development work for SB 16 will begin immediately.

"We are honored to continue providing these upgrades to the Air Force and are excited about all the B-1 potential that will be provided with SB 16," said Mahesh Reddy, B-1 program director for Boeing. "This major block will enhance the aircraft's color cockpit displays, data link, radar and navigation in ways that will significantly improve B-1 aircrews' ability to execute their missions."

Another B-1 milestone that Boeing accomplished this year was the July 30 first flight of a B-1 upgraded with the Fully Integrated Data Link (FIDL). This upgrade includes new processors, color displays and communications architecture, enhancing B-1 crews' situational awareness and communications capability. The FIDL aircraft is also in flight test at Edwards.

The multi-mission B-1 has been carrying the largest strike payload in the Air Force inventory since its combat debut. Its low radar cross-section, variable-geometry wings, advanced avionics, and afterburning engines combine to provide long range, maneuverability, high speed and survivability.


Source: The Boeing Company