MUSTANG Aims to Check-Out B-52s Faster
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The USA’s B-52 fleet began service in the 1950s, but the USA’s inability to build and sustain a modern bomber force that could replace it, coupled with a relatively low number of hours flown on sturdy airframes, has led to a long series of upgrades and modifications that could keep its B-52 fleet in service for over 80 years before all is said and done.
MUSTANG is part of those ongoing efforts. It is intended as a replacement for the B-52 weapons preload tester and ground weapons maintenance (GWM-9) testers, which are utilized in certifying the B-52H aircraft for conventional and nuclear weapons release. It will also replace the off-aircraft pylon test used to certify weapon pylons. When combined with the $150 million program to update B-52H armament and add the Universal Weapons Interface, the USAF’s B-52s will improve their readiness for a wider variety of missions.
Contracts issued under the MUSTANG program have included…
July 6/06: Boeing Co. in Wichita, KS received a $7.5 million firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement and time and materials contract modification for the Multi User System Tester-Armament Next Generation (MUSTANG) program. This effort includes the production and delivery of the MUSTANG Testers, MUSTANG cable testers (CT) and MUSTANG operational cable sets (OCS), as well as technical support required during the MUSTANG program production. The basic contract will procure the following equipment and quantities as described below with an option for additional quantities: Multi user system tester-armament next generation, 15 each; MUSTANG OCS, 15 each; MUSTANG CT, 5 each.
Negotiations were complete in June 2006, and work will be complete May 2007. The Headquarters Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, OK issued the contract (FA8107-05-C-0007/PZ001).
