(click to view full)
Boeing subsidiary McDonnell Douglas Corp. in St. Louis, MO received a $5.6 million order against previously-issued basic ordering agreement N00019-05-G-0026. The order procures engineering change proposal 270-R2 1760 wiring kits to upgrade 30 AV-8B Harrier II aircraft. Work will be performed in St. Louis, MO (70%) and Samarate, Italy (30%), and is expected to be complete in November 2007. Contract funds in the amount of $882,424 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, MD issued the contract.
So why is new wiring important?
From “Department Of The Navy Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Budget Estimates: Justification Of Estimates February 2004” may help to shed some light on things:
“The current AV-8B avionics do not have sufficient processor throughput and memory to support planned system upgrades. The OSCAR program will update the existing, obsolete avionics using Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) open system architecture hardware that runs object-oriented design (OOD) and higher order language (HOL) software. This OSIP supports the procurement and retrofit installation of the Mission System Computer (MSC) [see DID articles here and here] and Warfare Management Computer (WMC) being developed under the OSCAR program. This OSIP also supports the procurement and retrofit installation of MIL-STD-1760 wiring. Installation of the MIL-STD-1760B wiring to support new weapons will require the addition of wiring to the fuselage, additional circuit breaks, and a new relay panel.
Modifications to the wing and pylon wiring are also part of this modification. Subsequent system upgrades based on the OSCAR system will be a continuing effort to integrate precision weapons suitable for delivery from the Harrier platform, as well as the internal and pod mounted systems necessary to effect guidance and designation are essential to the continued relevance of the AV-8B to the war fighter. ECP-289 ECCM Mod Kit will be installed concurrent with OSCAR to provide the full integration of the Havequick/SINCGARS capability.
This system upgrade (ECP 270R2, ECP 285) is the production incorporation of the MSC, WMC and software being developed under the OSCAR program. The OSCAR program involves development, integration and operational test of the new MSC, WMC, and Operational Flight Program software that will use the MK-83 Joint Direct Attack Munitions on the AV-8B as well as full integration of Havequick/SINCGARS.”
USMC Harrier aircraft have been finding new success on the battlefields of Iraq, and the integration of GPS-guided JDAM weapons will add to their effectiveness.