Members of the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center team at Tinker AFB, Okla., were instrumental to quick fielding of the Sniper pod on the B-1B bomber, which saw its first combat employment with the targeting pod last month in operations in Afghanistan. Reacting to a priority request from US Air Forces Central, the ALC team employed an external pylon for the Sniper pod and used an existing on-board laptop computer to provide control of the pod and video imagery for the crew. Use of the pod greatly shortens the kill chain, providing a stable, long-range image for laser targeting and enables the crew to conduct bomb damage assessment. According to 2nd Lt. Douglas Richardson, B-1B avionics engineer with the ALC’s 427th Aircraft Sustainment Group, troops in close contact with enemy forces can “call the B-1B and the B-1B can see exactly what’s going on and target the enemy forces in seconds.” (Tinker report by Danielle Gregory)
The Air Force has finished modifying and testing the new VC-25B Bridge aircraft that will serve as a temporary Air Force One, the service announced May 1. All that’s left now is to finish painting the jet before it starts flying this summer.