US Air Force B-52 jammer program seen at risk

Posted on: Nov. 9th, 2005 || Source: today.reuters.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

US Air Force B-52 jammer program seen at risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force is likely to cancel a competition to add electronic warfare capabilities to the B-52 bomber, a program estimated to be worth up to $3 billion, defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute said on Tuesday.

Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and a team comprised of Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Britain's BAE Systems Plc (BA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) have been competing for the contract, which was expected to have an initial value of about $250 million.

Thompson, who advises many defense firms and has close ties to Air Force leaders, said he had learned the program would be scrapped, given concerns about the basic concept of having jamming equipment aboard the relatively slow B-52.

But one industry executive, who asked not to be named, characterized the expected Air Force action as a delay of the program, rather than an outright cancellation.

"This will buy them some time," said the executive, noting mounting pressure on the Air Force and other services to cut spending plans for fiscal 2007.

The program would fit 16 Air Force's B-52 long-range bombers, which date back to the 1960s, with two outboard wing pods with powerful radar-jamming gear that could disrupt enemy defenses from far-off distances.

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