Boeing to upgrade onboard computers and electronics for Japan's fleet of E-767 AWACS aircraft
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass., 30 Oct. 2014.Airborne electronics experts at the Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security segment in Kent, Wash., will upgrade electronic systems on four of Japan's wide-area radar surveillance jets under terms of a $25.6 million contract announced this week.
Officials of the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., are asking Boeing to upgrade four E-767 aircraft and three ground support facilities for the government of Japan as part of the Japan Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) mission control unit design and production program.
The Boeing E-767 is an AWACS aircraft that mimics the Boeing E-3 Sentry's surveillance radar and air control system, except it is installed on a Boeing 767-200 passenger jet airframe, rather than the E-3's Boeing 707 airframe.
Related: Air Force considers major electronic upgrades to AWACS aircraft computers and sensors
The aircraft upgrade is to provide Japan with an upgraded AWACS command and control capability, and to enable Japan’s AWACS fleet to be more compatible with the U.S. Air Force AWACS fleet baseline and provide for greater interoperability. Japan will use this enhanced capability to provide for its self-defense.
Boeing will provide upgraded mission computing, electronic support measures, traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS), interrogator friend or foe (IFF) transponder, next-generation IFF, automatic identification system, and data link upgrades for the four E-767 AWACS aircraft for Japan.
Last fall the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible foreign military sale to Japan of an E-767 AWACS mission computing upgrade. The E-767 mission computer upgrade was to include four electronic support measure systems; eight AN/UPX-40 next generation IFF systems; eight AN/APX-119 IFF transponders; and four KIV-77 cryptographic computers.
Related: Air Force and NATO select Boeing to modernize avionics and flight deck for AWACS fleets
The request also involved design and kit production, support and test equipment, provisioning, spare and repair parts, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical documentation, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and technical support, installation and checkout, and other related elements of program support.
Boeing will do the work in Kent, Wash., and should be finished by the end of February 2015. For more information contact Boeing Defense, Space & Security online at www.boeing.com/boeing/bds, or the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/aflcmc.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
