Aircraft

Boeing and Northrop Grumman are preparing bids for the lead system integrator role on the B-52 Stand-off Jammer System (SOJS) contract, with the US Air Force already cautioning the competitors of the need to deliver new digital receiver and advanced power generation technologies for SOJS. B-52 prime contractor Boeing, which has teamed with BAE Systems, had assumed that it would receive a sole-source contract, but the USAF has since opted to run a competition, issuing a 30 June request for proposals.

Northrop supplies the B-52’s current onboard self-protection systems, including its ALQ-155 low-band and ALQ-172 high-band jammers.

The USAF plans to award a $256 million contract on 11 October for a two-year pre-system development and demonstration (SDD) phase, with SDD to start in fiscal year 2008 and initial operational capability to follow from FY2013. Most or all of the air force’s B-52s will be rewired to carry the SOJS wingtip pods, but the service will only buy enough systems to equip 16 aircraft.