Summary and Key Points: Northrop Grumman announced a significant milestone for the B-2 Spirit bomber with the development of the Spirit Realm 1 (SR 1) upgrade.
-This enhancement improves the aircraft's communications and weapons systems through an open mission systems architecture, boosting its combat capabilities. The SR 1 package includes new displays, flight hardware, and survivability upgrades.
-Developed in partnership with the Air Force Global Strike Command and the B-2 Systems Program Office, SR 1 allows the B-2 to receive continuous software updates, ensuring its operational relevance into the 2030s, until it is replaced by the B-21 Raider.
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II has been in the spotlight as its major Technology Refresh-3 (TR-3) will be released in a "truncated" version, while the development on the enhancement for the Block 4 production continues. However, it would seem that the latest major update for another U.S. Air Force warplane has gone a little smoother.
On Wednesday, Northrop Grumman announced that the B-2 Spirit program "achieved a major milestone" with the development of the Spirit Realm 1 (SR 1), which promises to provide "mission critical capability upgrades to the communications and weapons systems via an open mission systems architecture." The aerospace firm added that it will directly enhance the long-range strategic bomber's combat capability, and allow the fleet of aircraft "to initiate a new phase of agile software releases."
The announcement of the SR 1 package was made 35 years to the day that the B-2 Spirit completed its maiden flight, which occurred on July 17, 1989.
"We are rapidly fielding capabilities with zero software defects through the software factory development ecosystem and further enhancing the B-2 fleet's mission effectiveness," said Jerry McBrearty, director and B-2 acting program manager, Northrop Grumman.
"The agile framework methodology within SR 1 directly supports the Air Force's initiative to adapt new capabilities in the aircraft, executing the mission today," added McBrearty
Development of the B-2 Spirit began in the analog era, back when President Jimmy Carter was in office, and the program moved forward during the Reagan era when 8-bit video games were all the rage! The Spirit may have been cutting edge when it first took to the skies in the summer of 1989 – just six months into George H.W. Bush's time in the White House – but it has likely been in need of a major upgrade for a while.
According to Northrop Gruman, the SR 1 will include "new displays and flight hardware," along with upgrades that could enhance the bomber's survivability.
"SR 1 was fully developed inside the B-2 Spirit Realm software factory that was established through a partnership with Air Force Global Strike Command and the B-2 Systems Program Office," the company explained. "The successful integration of the Spirit Realm software factory led the B-2 to become the first legacy nuclear platform to utilize the Department of Defense's DevSecOps processes and digital toolsets."
Spirit Realm will enable the B-2 to receive upgrades, including the latest software to keep the bomber flying into the 2030s, as it will be replaced by the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider.
"Our implementation of software factory is opening new doors for the B-2 to carry future weapons and advanced capabilities that will further strengthen our country's strategic deterrence," said Colonel Frank Marino, senior materiel leader, B-2 systems program manager, U.S. Air Force.
The U.S. Air Force currently operates a fleet of nineteen B-2 Spirits, all maintained at Whiteman Air Force Base (AFB), Missouri. The B-2 can already carry up to sixteen B-61 or megaton-yield B-83 nuclear gravity bombs on the rotary launchers inside its two bomb bays. The aircraft's avionics are hardened versus the electromagnetic pulses generated by nuclear blasts. It is also the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration. The Spirit is further able to fly 6,000 nautical miles without refueling, and travel at high subsonic speeds.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
All images are Creative Commons and/or Shutterstock.
