The Air Force tapped Warner Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins AFB, Ga., to lead a tiger team to discover why missile warning systems failed to function on several aircraft under fire near Baghdad in 2003 and 2004. Working with the Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, the team came up with the Smart Cable, a device that officials say has already saved airlift aircraft from missile attack. The team began designing, testing, and producing the cable in March 2004, installing the first one that summer. A process that normally would require up to five years or more was done in five months. Among the 400 coalition aircraft that have the cable, the cable performed well until a year ago when some of the aircraft developed power supply problems. Another team has developed and tested a power supply fix.
New B-52 Radar Makes First Flight
Dec. 12, 2025
The Air Force’s radar modernization effort for the B-52 Stratofortress entered flight testing recently, a “milestone” for the once over-budget system that senior leaders call the start of a new era for the Cold War bomber.
