Boeing has finished installing Block E avionics modification kits on the Air Force’s fleet of 67 B-1B bombers, also called Bones. The installation marked the end of the conventional mission upgrade program that began in 1993 to convert the B-1 from a nuclear to a conventional role. According to a Boeing press release, the modification included replacing six computers with four, improving throughput, memory and increasing conventional weapons capability. The modification allows for wind-corrected munitions dispenser, joint standoff weapon, and joint air-to-surface standoff munition weapons integration.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
