Engineers use future B-52 technology to track storms

Some people tend to spend a snowy or rainy day tucked away, watching the weather move past a window, but at the Boeing Oklahoma City site engineers on the Radar Modernization Program (RMP) get a first look at tracking storms in their lab with the B‑52’s new radar to see how it will detect and display atmospheric conditions.

The engineers tested the site’s B-52 High Bay facility, which holds the new B-52 APQ-188 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar that has capabilities akin to those that are already on modern fighter aircraft.

“It is a surreal feeling being able to see the first images from this radar,” said Michael Matlock, B-52 RMP Labs Engineering manager. “Many teams have worked long hours to get where we are today, and we’re proud of this new radar that will be the future of such an iconic aircraft as the B-52.”

Why it matters: The new radar adds a purpose-built weather mode the B52 has never had, replacing vague green-scale returns with clear, color-coded imagery that instantly differentiates precipitation intensity and types so operators can see where conditions are hazardous. It is a faster, more readable picture that shortens decision timelines, improves mission safety and turns previously ambiguous data into actionable guidance.

• “Lab testing gathers critical information,” Matlock said. “We need this data to ensure the radar is operating correctly and allow us to show operators how this will work and walk them through what we have seen in actual different weather scenarios.”
• “Our early testing wasn’t just technical validation,” said Doug Anderson, B-52 RMP Systems Engineering Integration and Test Lab Test lead. “It demonstrated we’re giving crews an improved look at the operational battlespace — clearer, faster information that shrinks decision timelines and expands options in contested environments.”

Lessons learned: Doing testing now helps the team accelerate the program schedule by building engineering hardware early, allowing software developers to test against real systems instead of waiting for a final integrated build. This parallel approach produced faster feedback loops, revealed issues sooner and let software be refined iteratively while hardware development continued.

• “This is a win-win for everyone,” Anderson said. “Finding problems sooner lets us fix them earlier in the development process, keeps work moving and gets aircraft available sooner for operations.”

The big picture: The RMP program aims to enable new capabilities to the established design of the B-52 such as improved navigation accuracy, high-resolution mapping, and enhanced target detection and tracking. The new radar, APQ-188, is a variant of the F/A-18 fighter’s APG-79 radar modified for B-52 missions.

• “This radar is a game changer,” said Todd Scherm, B-52 Advanced Programs manager and former B-52 radar navigator. “The radar images and new modes of operation greatly enhance mission effectiveness and boost flight safety at the same time.”
• The first test B-52 aircraft was delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, California, in December of last year to conduct further test and evaluation, while the second test aircraft is at Boeing San Antonio receiving its new modifications having new radar installed.

The bottom line: “Our teammates have constantly shown up to help each other and our customer to receive this crucial capability, regardless of rain or snow,” Matlock said. “I am thankful for everyone who puts in the countless hours to help put one of the most advanced radars in the world on an aircraft with this importance and history.”

By Peter Agnitsch