Northrop Grumman demonstrated at Edwards AFB, Calif., in June the ability to “rapidly integrate” subsystems onto the B-2 using Open Mission Systems (OMS)-compliant architecture, the company announced yesterday. "This demonstration paves the way for the B-2 weapon system to provide new operational capability well into the future at an affordable cost," said Brig. Gen. Eric Fick, Program Executive Officer for Fighters and Bombers at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. OMS is an Air Force effort to develop plug-and-play interfaces between mission systems and services. The test involved another aircraft detecting a ground threat and broadcasting the threat’s location across an OMS-compliant line-of-sight Link-16 data link, according to a June 20 Northrop press release. The battle management command and control node received the threat information through this link and assigned a closeby B-2 to engage the target. The stealth bomber then used its onboard auto-routing function to replan its mission to prosecute and destroy the target in a simulated attack, the release states.
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