Honeywell to upgrade several kinds of Air Force bomber, fighter, utility, and surveillance aircraft

March 29, 2012
TINKER AFB, Okla., 29 March 2012. U.S. Air Force aircraft and avionics experts are looking to the Honeywell International Inc. Aerospace sector in Tempe, Ariz., to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) for 11 types of Air Force combat, utility, cargo, surveillance, and refueling aircraft under terms of a $73.2 million contract announced Tuesday.

TINKER AFB, Okla., 29 March 2012. U.S. Air Force aircraft and avionics experts are looking to the Honeywell International Inc. Aerospace sector in Tempe, Ariz., to provide maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) for 11 types of Air Force combat, utility, cargo, surveillance, and refueling aircraft under terms of a $73.2 million contract announced Tuesday.

Honeywell Aerospace will overhaul and repair, as well as provide spare parts for, avionics and other systems on the Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II close-air-support jet, B-1 Lancer strategic bomber, B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber, C-130 Hercules utility turboprop, C-135 Stratolifter cargo jet, C-141 Starlifter cargo jet, C-5 Galaxy cargo jet, E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, F-15 Eagle jet fighter, F-16 Falcon jet fighter, and KC-135 Stratotanker mid-air refueling aircraft.

Awarding the contract were officials of the Air Force Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., which provides depot maintenance for Air Force sophisticated weapon systems. The Center modifies, repairs, and manages logistics for a variety of bombers, refuelers, and reconnaissance aircraft.

The KC-135 is a modified Boeing 707 passenger jet that provides mid-air refueling for a wide variety of aircraft; the A-10, better-known as the Warthog, provides close-air support for infantry; the B-1 supersonic bomber can deliver conventional and nuclear bombs in heavily defended areas; the B-52 high-altitude bomber can deliver conventional or nuclear warheads; the C-130 is one of the most versatile utility aircraft and can deliver cargo and troops, as well as provide infiltration and exfiltration of Special Forces, provide close-air support for troops on the ground, provide mid-air refueling for Special Forces helicopters, and provide combat search and rescue.

The C-135, C-141, and C-5 are strategic airlifter cargo jets of various sizes for carrying troops, equipment, and even large armored combat vehicles; the E-3 is an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) radar aircraft that provides large-area air surveillance and combat air traffic control during combat operations; the KC-135, which also is a modified Boeing 707 passenger jet, essentially is a gas station in the sky that provides mid-air refueling for a wide variety of fixed-wing aircraft.; and the F-15 and F-16 are air-superiority jet fighters and fighter-bombers.

On the current contract, Honeywell will do the work in Tempe, Tucson, and Phoenix Ariz., as well as in Torrance, Calif., and should be finished by April 2014.

For more information contact Honeywell Aerospace online at www51.honeywell.com/aero, or the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center at www.tinker.af.mil/units.

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About the Author

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.

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