The US Air Force test flew a beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communication-capable B-52 bomber for the first time last month.
The Iris system-equipped B-52 flew from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, while a combat operations team assessed the system’s voice and data transfer capabilities, including real-time images and video.
Iris leverages the Low Earth Orbit Iridium NEXT satellite constellation to provide global coverage and L-Band speeds through Iridium Certus, “a broadband service that has a bandwidth capacity of up to 704 Kbps.”
The previous system capacity was 2.4 Kbps.
‘Multi-Domain’ B-52
Iris will replace the Global Iridium Bomber Set, which has been in service since 2017.
The Iris is an Air Force Global Strike Command program to integrate the aircraft into the “greater Joint All-Domain Command and Control problem set,” transforming the legacy bomber into a more “modernized multi-domain aircraft.”
49th Test and Evaluation Squadron commander Capt. Richard Brown said, “In a wartime scenario, the single point of failure often lies in our ability to communicate.”
“If we can’t send and receive mission critical data from our aircraft reliably and efficiently, then we will lose. The Iris system is one of the many datalink solutions that we need in order to equip the warfighter for today’s fight.”