![]() 2 that the system-level PDR did not occur in July but is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. Program officials also plan to conduct a system-level preliminary design review in July 2020, prior to development start in March 2021.”īoeing said on Sept. Program officials noted that the Air Force will perform an independent technology readiness assessment of potential critical technologies in preparation for the start of development. “We have reported in the past that reusing existing technologies can reduce technical risk, but if the form, fit, or functionality of those technologies changes from one program to another, technology maturity may also change and should be reassessed. “Although the program has yet to identify critical technologies, program officials stated they plan to integrate technologies currently used on other aircraft,” per GAO’s report in June. RMP will replace the radar antenna array and up to 14 individual line replaceable units (LRUs) that comprise the radar system. Because of the projected six-month slip in Milestone B, the House Appropriations Committee recommended cutting that amount by $10.9 million in the committee’s version of the fiscal 2021 defense funding bill. The Air Force requested $168 million for RMP in fiscal 2021. The 2024 production date is a year delay from what the Air Force said in its fiscal 2017 acquisition report. Production is planned to begin in fiscal year 2024, with the planned delivery of 76 radars from 2025 through 2029.” The program began in fiscal year 2017 and the acquisition strategy was approved in March 2018. “This radar upgrade will maintain platform viability through 2050. The APQ-166 “is based on 1960s technology, last modified in the 1980s, with a 63 percent rate-of-failure during operations,” the Air Force said in its fiscal 2018 acquisition report, the most recent one the service has released. ![]() “We anticipate about $377 million in savings on sustainment costs alone compared to the legacy system.” Mark Weatherington, the commander of Eighth Air Force and Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, said last week. RMP is “essential to replace the now unsupportable radar and dramatically improve performance and supportability,” Air Force Maj. Last year, Boeing, the maker of the venerable B-52 and the RMP prime contractor, picked Raytheon to design and build an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, based on AESA technologies in Raytheon’s APG-79/APG-82 family, to replace the B-52’s APQ-166 terrain-following and mapping radars by Northrop Grumman ( Defense Daily, July 11, 2019). Officials noted that the prime contractor was solely responsible for final supplier selection and will be responsible for ensuring supplier performance going forward.” “According to program officials, providing input into the prime contractor’s solicitation process took longer than expected and involved establishing a framework to vet program requirements. “The program plans to start development in March 2021, a delay of 6 months from our previous assessment,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in its Defense Acquisitions Annual Assessment in June. The projected development start of the B-52H Radar Modernization Program (RMP) has slipped six months from this month until March next year.
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