Since Sept. 1, the company has conducted a series of test flights using a B-2 test aircraft stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. The flight test program is part of Increment 1 of the U.S. Air Force's B-2 extremely high frequency (EHF) satellite communications program. Northrop Grumman is the Air Force's prime contractor for the B-2 Spirit, the flagship of the nation's long range strike arsenal, and one of the world's most survivable aircraft systems. The B-2 is the only combat-proven stealth platform in the current U.S. inventory. The EHF Increment 1 system that flew includes:
- A new integrated processing unit developed by Lockheed Martin Systems Integration, Owego, NY., that will replace up to a dozen current stand-alone avionics computers on the B-2
- A new disk drive unit developed by Honeywell Defense and Space Electronic Systems, Plymouth, Minn., that will enable transfer of EHF data onto and off of the B-2
- A network of fiber optic cable that will support the high speed data transfers within the aircraft