Northrop Grumman Begins Flight Testing New B-2 EHF Satcom Hardware: "Northrop Grumman has begun flight testing the new computing hardware and communications infrastructure that will eventually allow the B-2 stealth bomber to send and receive battlefield information by satellite more than 100 times faster than today.
Since Sept. 1, the company has conducted a series of test flights using a B-2 test aircraft stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The flight test program is part of Increment 1 of the U.S. Air Force's B-2 extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications program.
Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the B-2 Spirit, the flagship of the nation's long range strike arsenal, and one of the world's most survivable aircraft systems. The B-2 is the only combat-proven stealth platform in the current U.S. inventory.
'The flight test program has demonstrated that the EHF Increment 1 computer upgrade system has reached a maturity level that allows us to conduct test sorties beyond the Edwards AFB local area with confidence,' said Ron Naylor, Northrop Grumman's director of the EHF Increment 1 development program."
