AAI Logistics and Technical Services Awarded USAF Contract for B-1B Training System Support

AAI Logistics and Technical Services has announced that the company has received an award from the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to provide logistics support and concurrency modifications for the B-1B Training System. The award has a total potential value of $162 million over seven years.
Under this award, AAI Logistics and Technical Services will be responsible for operating the B-1B Training System Support Center, located at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, and providing contractor logistics support for training systems at multiple locations.
"Our training services emphasize high system availability for productive, reliable training operations," says AAI Logistics and Technical Services Senior Vice President and General Manager Diane Giuliani.
"We have provided years of successful contractor logistics support for other mission-critical military systems such as the C-17 Globemaster maintenance training system and T-25 Simulator for Electronic Combat Training."
In addition, AAI Logistics and Technical Services will design, develop and deploy concurrency modifications to the B-1B Aircrew and Maintenance Training System.
"Concurrency upgrades enable students to train on a system that reflects the most recent enhancements to the actual aircraft," explains Giuliani.
"With so many students preparing for the rigors and uncertainties of field operations, realistic training scenarios build skills and confidence."

Northrop Grumman Participating in Bold Alligator Maritime Exercise With F-35 Sensors

Northrop Grumman is participating in U.S. Fleet Forces Command's Joint/Coalition Amphibious Exercise Bold Alligator 2012, employing the company's BAC1-11 test aircraft to provide F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) sensor capabilities.
During Bold Alligator 2012, the BAC1-11 is being configured with the F-35's AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and the AN/AAQ-37 infrared distributed aperture system (DAS). Systems will operate with future software blocks undergoing test as well as those delivered in current F-35 jets.
Bold Alligator is a large-scale, multinational Navy-Marine Corps amphibious exercise conducted by U.S. Fleet Forces and Marine Forces Command. It will be the Atlantic Fleet's largest amphibious exercise in 10 years.
The 2012 exercise is centralizing planning and execution of a brigade-sized amphibious assault from a seabase in a medium threat environment. Following a decade of ground war, this event is intended to revitalize, refine and strengthen core amphibious competencies of the Navy and Marine Corps.
"With JSF being delivered to training commands in 2012, the Navy-Marine Corps team is poised to start using our radar and DAS in an operational context, much like U.S. Pacific Command did during Northern Edge 2011. Northrop Grumman's commitment to deliver new capabilities to the war fighter remains a priority. This exercise is another opportunity to demonstrate operational utility to the fleet," said Jeff Leavitt, Northrop Grumman's vice president of Combat Avionics Systems.
"F-35 sensor capabilities are unprecedented. Their performance continues to meet or exceed expectations."
Building upon successful F-35 sensor deployments during Exercise Northern Edge in 2009 and 2011 in Alaska, Northrop Grumman's BAC1-11 test aircraft is flying air-to-air and air-to-ground reconnaissance missions during Bold Alligator's large naval and ground force maneuvers on the Atlantic coast. Participating naval forces include an aircraft carrier strike group, amphibious ready group, NATO alliance ships from eight partner nations, and Marine landing forces.
The F-35 AN/APG-81 AESA radar and AN/AAQ-37 DAS have demonstrated exceptional maturity well in advance of formal operational testing timelines. Participation in Bold Alligator is integrating these advanced capabilities in the maritime domain.
The AN/APG-81 AESA radar is a multifunction aperture capable of the full range of air-to-air and air-to-surface functions complemented by significant electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
The AN/AAQ-37 DAS provides passive spherical awareness for the F-35, simultaneously detecting and tracking aircraft and missiles in every direction, and providing visual imagery for day/night navigation and targeting purposes. The F-35 JSF's role as an invaluable future component of the Navy, Marine Corps and international defense team is being demonstrated in all phases of amphibious operations as exercised in Bold Alligator.

AAI Test and Training to Provide ABE for USAF and SOCOM

AAI Test and Training has announced that it has received a $7.7 million Advanced Boresight Equipment (ABE) award from the Defense Logistics Agency to provide 16 Model 310A ABE core test systems for the U.S. Air Force and Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Bell Boeing CV-22 Osprey fleets.
The company has already delivered more than 40 ABE systems to the Air Force supporting more than 10 different aircraft platforms. In addition, SOCOM has utilized AAI Test and Training's ABE to align its fixed-wing aircraft fleet for more than five years.
"ABE's long-standing reliability for so many aircraft platforms speaks for itself," says Senior Vice President and General Manager Robert Peters of AAI Test and Training.
"More than 160 of our ABE systems have been fielded by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army and Marine Corps, as well as our allies around the world, in support of 24 different aircraft platforms."
ABE is a gyro-stabilized, electro-optical angular measurement system designed to align aircraft subsystems. Because the ABE system supports concurrent maintenance and does not require aircraft to be jacked and leveled during testing, both depot- and operational-level users can maintain schedules and reduce maintenance costs.
These features also support increased manufacturing throughput for original equipment manufacturers.