RMIP upgrade key to B-1 longevity

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Charles V. Rivezzo
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The 337th Test and Evaluation Squadron recently completed tests on the B-1's radar Reliability and Maintainability Improvement Program, providing B-1 combat forces with an updated offensive radar system.

The 337th TES displayed the capabilities of the RMIP upgrade by successfully completing operational ground and aerial tests, with the highlighted notion of little to no maintenance required on the new radar system.

"RMIP truly addresses critical sustainability issues on the B-1 weapon system," said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Trevor Helm, 337th TES B-1 crew chief. "The existing B-1 radar system is more than 20 years old and has not had a hardware upgrade since it was initially fielded in 1985. The equipment had endured the test of time and required a large bulk of man hours dedicated to keeping it operational."

The RMIP kit comprises a new radar transmitter/receiver, a new radar processor computer and a new software package.

"From an operators' standpoint, the RMIP program will be transparent in the functionality of the system," said Capt. Chad Fulkerson, 337th TES. "The crucial benefit, in today's fight, is the improved reliability and baseline setting for future advancements of the radar system, a paramount tool used to put bombs on target."

Furthermore, the upgrade was required to avoid fleet grounding because of radar component obsolescence.

"As far as maintenance goes, RMIP has helped us more than any upgrade we have had in the last few years," Helm said. "Prior to RMIP, we were losing a lot of time by having to continuously replace parts on the radar system. With RMIP, we didn't have to deal with the time-consuming maintenance that the previous radar required, in turn, we were able to turn jets faster, improve fleet health and better train our maintainers."

"Having aircraft mission ready is a top priority for commanders," said Lt. Col. George Holland, 337th TES commander. "RMIP increases the mean time between failures of the current radar system by nine times that amount, significantly increasing B-1 aircraft availability."

With the successful completion of operational testing, the RMIP data was sent back to the 419th Flight and Test Squadron from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

The new RMIP parts will be available to the B-1 fleet in March. These installs will be accomplished on the B-1's at both Dyess AFB and Ellsworth AFB, S.D.