Lancer radar undergoes support work

The US Defense Logistics Agency Aviation (DLA) has awarded Northrop Grumman Mission Systems a $2.3 million contract to design a new radar instrumentation system for the B-1B Lancer bomber.

‘The instrumentation service order will bring much needed updates to the current system, including new single board computers, ethernet-based protocol, high-speed data lines, and solid-state drive data collection units,’ the DLA announced on 8 April.

Installation is scheduled in late 2021 aboard two instrumented B-1Bs at Edwards Air Force Base. The contract is due for completion in May 2022.

The B-1B carries an AN/APQ-164 phased-array multimode pulse-Doppler radar system. 

‘The radar system [on the B-1B] is 30 plus years old, and the current radar instrumentation system is over 10 years old. We are updating the instrumentation system to overcome [diminishing manufacturing sources - DMS] challenges as well as provide a path for data collection on future radar efforts,’ said Phil Ngo, an engineer within the B-1 System Program Office.

It will be difficult to maintain the radar system if DMS issues are not resolved, he added, saying: ‘The B-1’s radar is critical to its mission within the Air Force. Maintaining this system is one of our top priorities.’

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