BAE Systems has announced it received a $3.3 million contract to transition a full-scale development model of a rapid deployment-capable to a production-ready station to test electronic attack pods used with F-15, F-16, and A-10 aircraft. The portable tester will check out ALQ-131 and ALQ-184 EA pods to enable “fast-turnaround repairs,” stated a company news release. The Air Force expects BAE to complete the FSD transition phase by 2008. In the next phase of the program, BAE would produce up to 100 testers.
The Air Force has finished resurrecting a B-1B Lancer, completing a yearslong process to transform a bomber that had been stored for parts in the Arizona desert into the new flagship of the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas.