Air Combat Electronics Program Office

Air Combat Electronics Program Office Structure

Northrop Grumman B- 2 Spirit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B- 2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavypenetrationstrategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti- aircraft defenses; it is a flying wing design with a crew of two.

Ralph Portnoy, Program Manager, Air Combat Electronics Program Office, PMA-209. NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. Portnoy has assumed command as Program Manager, Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209). In May 2006, Portnoy reported to PERS. Air Combat Training Systems DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. PMA209 Air Combat Electronics Program Office Ms. Candy Chesser PMA209 23 March 2016 Distribution Statement A – “Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited, as submitted under NAVAIR Public Release Aut horization 2016 -142” 2 Distribution.

Introduction Candace “Candy” Chesser is the program manager for the Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209) at the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. In that role, Chesser leads PMA-209 in the. Candace “Candy” Chesser, who leads Naval Air Systems Command’s Air Combat Electronics Program Office (PMA-209), headquartered at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Development The Combat Talon was developed between December 1964 and January 1967 by Lockheed Air Services (LAS) at Ontario, California, as the result of a study by Big Safari, the USAF's program office that modifies and sustains special mission aircraft. Candace Chesser (see photo) has been promoted to program manager from deputy program manager of the U.S. Navy’s Air Combat Electronics Program Office, NAS Patuxent River, Maryland. Tracy Barkhimer, who has retired. Chesser was principal deputy program manager for the Naval Air. The Naval Air Systems Command AIR 1.0 PMA209 Air Combat Electronics Program Office will conduct an informational Industry Day on 18 June 2014, in Lexington Park, MD. The Industry Day will take place in the Science Applications International Corporation.

The B- 2 is the only acknowledged aircraft that can carry large air- to- surfacestandoff weapons in a stealth configuration. Development originally started under the . The ATB project continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B- 1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development. Designed and manufactured by Northrop, later Northrop Grumman, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$7. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The four-star generals who run Air Combat Command and Home Mail Flickr Tumblr News Sports Finance Celebrity Answers Groups Mobile More Try Yahoo Finance on Firefox. Miller, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition Integration. Next Generation Small Loader System Program Office, ASC, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 8. August 2000 - August 2002 9.

The winding- down of the Cold War in the latter portion of the 1. Soviet airspace and attacking high- value targets. During the late 1.

Congress slashed plans to purchase 1. In 2. 00. 8, a B- 2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, though the crew ejected safely.

It entered service in 1. Lockheed F- 1. 17 Nighthawk attack aircraft. Though designed originally as primarily a nuclear bomber, the B- 2 was first used in combat, dropping conventional, non- nuclear ordnance in the Kosovo War in 1. It later served in Iraq and Afghanistan. The concept was to build an aircraft with an airframe that deflected or absorbed radar signals so that little was reflected back to the radar unit. An aircraft having stealth characteristics would be able to fly nearly undetected and could be attacked only by weapons and systems not relying on radar.

Although other detection measures existed, such as human observation, their relatively short detection range allowed most aircraft to fly undetected by defenses, especially at night. Lockheed had experience in this field due to developing the Lockheed A- 1. SR- 7. 1, which included a number of stealthy features, notably its canted vertical stabilizers, the use of composite materials in key locations, and the overall surface finish in radar- absorbing paint.

A key improvement was the introduction of computer models used to predict the radar reflections from flat surfaces where collected data drove the design of a . Development of the first such designs started in 1. Northrop and Lockheed were awarded contracts in the first round of testing. Lockheed received the sole award for the second test round in April 1. Have Blue program and eventually the F- 1. It developed stealth technology, LO (low observables), fly- by- wire, curved surfaces, composite materials, electronic intelligence (ELINT), and Battlefield Surveillance Aircraft Experimental (BSAX). President Carter was aware of these developments during 1.

B- 1 was canceled. During the 1. 98. Ronald Reagan repeatedly stated that Carter was weak on defense, and used the B- 1 as a prime example. In return, on 2. 2 August 1. Carter administration publicly disclosed that the United States Department of Defense (Do. D) was working to develop stealth aircraft, including a bomber. The bomber's design was changed in the mid- 1.

The redesign delayed the B- 2's first flight by two years and added about US$1 billion to the program's cost. Both during development and in service, there has been considerable importance placed to the security of the B- 2 and its technologies. Staff working on the B- 2 in most, if not all, capacities have to achieve a level of special- access clearance, and undergo extensive background checks carried out by a special branch of the Air Force.

To avoid the possibility of suspicion, components were typically purchased through front companies, military officials would visit out of uniform, and staff members were routinely subjected to polygraph examinations. The secrecy extended so far that access to nearly all information on the program by both Government Accountability Office (GAO) and virtually all members of Congress itself was severely limited until the mid- 1. This viewing was heavily restricted, and guests were not allowed to see the rear of the B- 2. However, Aviation Week editors found that there were no airspace restrictions above the presentation area and took photographs of the aircraft's then- secret rear section with suppressed engine exhausts from the air, to the USAF's disappointment. The B- 2's (s/n 8. AV- 1) first public flight was on 1.

July 1. 98. 9 from Palmdale to Edwards AFB. Under budgetary pressures and Congressional opposition, in his 1. State of the Union Address, President George H.

W. Bush announced B- 2 production would be limited to 2. In 1. 99. 6, the General Accounting Office (GAO) disclosed that the USAF's B- 2 bombers . In September 1. 99.

B- 2 flight necessitated 1. Comparable maintenance needs for the B- 5. B- 1. B are 5. 3 and 6. A key reason for this cost is the provision of air- conditioned hangars large enough for the bomber's 1.

The cost to procure each B- 2 was US$7. US$1. 5. 4. 8 billion. This includes development, procurement, facilities, construction, and spare parts.

The total program cost averaged US$2. Opposition in committee and in Congress was mostly broad and bipartisan, with Congressmen Ron Dellums (D- CA), John Kasich (R- OH), and John G. Rowland (R- CT) authorizing the motion to end the project. At the peak production period specified in 1. US$7 billion to $8 billion per year in 1.

Committee Chair Les Aspin (D- WI) said . Senator, representing Massachusetts.

By 1. 99. 2, Republican President George H. W. Bush called for the cancellation of the B- 2 and promised to cut military spending by 3.

Soviet Union. However, in 1. Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and its Director of National Security Analysis, found that additional B- 2s would reduce the cost of expended munitions by less than US$2 billion in 1. Air Force predicted bombers would make their greatest contribution; a small fraction of the US$2. CBO projected for an additional 2. B- 2s. In July 2.

B- 2's onboard computing architecture was extensively redesigned; it now incorporates a new integrated processing unit (IPU) that communicates with systems throughout the aircraft via a newly installed fiber optic network; a new version of the operational flight program software was also developed, with legacy code converted from the JOVIAL programming language to standard C. Department of Commerce has sold that radio spectrum to another operator. The main area of improvement would be replacement of outdated avionics and equipment. It was reported in 2. Pentagon was evaluating an unmanned stealth bomber, characterized as a .

Low observability provides a greater freedom of action at high altitudes, thus increasing both range and field of view for onboard sensors. Air Force reports its range as approximately 6,0. In the B- 2's original configuration, up to 1. GAMs or JDAMs could be deployed.

As of 2. 01. 1, the AGM- 1. JASSMcruise missile is an upcoming standoff munition to be deployed on the B- 2 and other platforms. One system is the low probability of intercept. AN/APQ- 1. 81 multi- mode radar, a fully digital navigation system that is integrated with terrain- following radar and Global Positioning System (GPS) guidance, NAS- 2. Northrop SM- 6. 2 Snark cruise missile). For battlefield communications, both Link- 1. AN/APQ- 1. 81 radar's operational frequency was shifted in order to avoid interference with other operator's equipment.

Luke Jayne during a visit to Whiteman AFB, 2. In order to address the inherent flight instability of a flying wing aircraft, the B- 2 uses a complex quadruplex computer- controlled fly- by- wire flight control system, that can automatically manipulate flight surfaces and settings without direct pilot inputs in order to maintain aircraft stability. This stealth comes from a combination of reduced acoustic, infrared, visual and radar signatures (multi- spectral camouflage) to evade the various detection systems that could be used to detect and be used to direct attacks against an aircraft. The B- 2's stealth enables the reduction of supporting aircraft that are required to provide air cover, Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses and electronic countermeasures, making the bomber a . It is speculated to have an upward- facing light sensor which alerts the pilot to increase or reduce altitude to match the changing illuminance of the sky. The aircraft is not seen by radar, except briefly when the bomb bay opens. The B- 2's clean, low- drag flying wing configuration not only provides exceptional range but is also beneficial to reducing its radar profile.

The F- 1. 17 used flat surfaces (faceting technique) for controlling radar returns as during its development (see Lockheed Have Blue) in the early 1. This technique, known as continuous curvature, was made possible by advances in computational fluid dynamics, and first tested on the Northrop Tacit Blue. To avoid detection by look- down radars, engines are buried within the B- 2's wing (S- duct) to conceal the engines' fans. According to the Stefan. The resulting cooler air is conducted over a surface composed of heat resistant carbon- fiber- reinforced polymer and titanium alloy elements, which disperse the air laterally, in order to accelerate its cooling. Additional reduction in its radar signature was achieved by the use of various radar- absorbent materials (RAM) to absorb and neutralize radar beams. The majority of the B- 2 is made out of a carbon- graphitecomposite material that is stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum.

Perhaps most crucially, a beneficial characteristic of this composite material is the absorption of significant amounts of radar energy. Air Force contractor support and managed at Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base. It was responsible for destroying 3. Serbian bombing targets in the first eight weeks of U.

S. Although the bombers accounted 5. NATO sorties, they dropped 1.