Boeing has integrated the hardware and software for a B-2 bomber prototype system within its Family of Advanced Beyond-line-of-sight Terminals, which the company expects to “provide critical, secure beyond-line-of-sight communications capability,” according to a Boeing news release. The prototype system—a Block 4 software-defined radio—specifically supports the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite integration efforts for the B-2 bomber. The goal of FAB-T is to provide “strategic forces with a multi-mission capable family of software-defined radios that use a common open system architecture to link to different satellites and enable information exchange between ground, air , and space platforms.”
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.