US to Upgrade Dozens of B-52H Bombers with $1.1 Billion

Local Editor

The US military is spending $1.1 billion to upgrade dozens of B-52H bombers to boost the aircraft's brainpower and make it easier for the aircraft to share complicated targeting information, as the Foreign Policy reported on Thursday.

The Foreign Policy reported on Thursday that the project known as Combat Network Communications Technology [CONECT] is planned for the coming years.

The new equipment includes software upgrades, radios, and computer servers - plus digital work stations that will replace aging control panels installed with instruments built during the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations.

"As the adversary moves and adjusts and different sensors move and adjust, the B-52 will say, ‘Yep, this target shifted. It moved over here and I know where it is,'" Brig. Gen. Fred Stoss, who oversees upgrades to the plane, told Foreign Policy.
"So it can do what it needs to do with a very agile enemy and it can stay plugged in with all the other platforms," he said.

The US bomber was last produced in 1962 and it is expected to remain in service until 2040.

The first upgraded B-52 landed at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on April 21.
Dozens of more planes are expected to receive the upgrades in coming years.
The US Air Force is also planning a massive upgrade to the B-52s bomb bays, reconfiguring them to allow smart weapons to be installed internally, improving fuel efficiency.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team