Lockheed Martin has gotten the green light—and a $23 million contract from Northrop Grumman—to proceed with the upgrade of the B-2 bomber’s satellite communications system. Earlier this year, the Air Force approved the plan presented by B-2 prime contractor Northrop. A company release says the modernized SATCOM will enable the B-2s to send and receive data faster and offers “beyond-line-of-sight, assured connectivity capability,” ensuring the bombers are compatible with current and future extremely high frequency SATCOM architectures.
Officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Fla., said the range is “fully mission capable” to support launches following a major May 28 mishap involving Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.