Boeing says it has completed the developmental stage of the C-130 avionics modernization program and is ready to move the project into low-rate initial production early next year. The company announced Sept. 5 that it had achieved the milestone following the successful flight of one of the C-130 AMP test aircraft at Edwards AFB, Calif., on Aug. 18 that validated the functionality of the program’s core complete 2.2 software build. John Young, the Pentagon’s acquisition czar, intends to decide in mid October whether to allow the AMP to move into its production phase. During LRIP, the Air Force has said it intends to procure 26 AMP kits. Boeing said it will install 11 of these kits. A portion of the remaining kits will be installed by two competitively selected industry teams. The Air Force will then pick one of them to manufacture and install the kits during the full-rate production phase.
The Space Development Agency added 21 satellites to its nascent data transport network in an Oct. 15 launch, the second mission in a 10-month campaign to field 154 operational spacecraft.
