Boeing has handed over the first integrated battle station (IBS) modification kit-equipped B-1B Lancer long-range strategic bomber aircraft to the US Air Force (USAF).
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The aircraft was transferred from Tinker Air Force Base, located in Oklahoma, where the kit was installed, to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, US.
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Involving three major aircraft modifications, including the integration of an upgraded front and cockpit, a new diagnostics system and a new Link 16 data system, the IBS kit is designed to improve the situational awareness and communication capabilities of the aircrew, and their ability to engage enemy targets.
The Link-16 installation enables the B-1 to operate in the integrated battlefield and more effectively support ground forces, while the cockpit modifications are expected to relieve reliability problems and provide an integrated flow of information.
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Around four IBS kits have been supplied by Boeing as part of the initial Lot 1 contract awarded in June 2011, and an additional nine are scheduled to be delivered to USAF under a $65.8m Lot 2 follow-on contract secured in June 2012.
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Manufactured by Boeing, the B-1B Lancer is a long-range and supersonic variable-sweep wing bomber operated by the USAF in support of the US and Nato missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Powered by four General Electric F101-GE-102 turbofan engines, the bomber is capable of rapidly delivering massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary and at any time worldwide.
Image: The first IBS-equipped B-1 takes off from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, US. Photo: courtesy of Boeing.
