air leak near the wheel well of the B-1. Our software was able to detect it and prevent damage to the landing gear.” Morales and others on her team must run simulation after simulation to refine the software so it performs perfectly once installed. “We test CIT S in the lab and also on the plane because it has to perform in the real world. I like trying to break it, to break our code. If I can’t break it, I know we’ve done a good job,” she said. CIT S is one of three major technology upgrades that are modernizing the B-1. Fully Integrated Data Link updates the data link on the aircraft, while the Vertical Situation Display Unit replaces monochrome pilot and co-pilot displays with digital screens—the so-called glass cockpit. Collectively, all three updates are known as the Integrated Battle Station. By bundling three modifications into one effort, Boeing’s team improves vintage 1970s and ’80s software and computing capabilities throughout the entire aircraft. Some aspects of Integrated Battle Station are immediately obvious—each crew member now has a full-color, digital display screen in place of analog dials—while other improvements manifest themselves in operations. “With Integrated Battle Station, the radar command doesn’t require lots of buttons, just one button. With the updated user interface, you can engage targets using the radar or targeting pod with a single cursor control switch hit,” said Tom Adolfs, a B-1 software engineer. Adolfs, like Morales, has spent years developing and testing the software now being deployed on the B-1 fleet. The goal isn’t simply to add a digital sheen to the bomber, he said, but rather Photos: (Clockwise from top left) Leah Morales, foreground, software engineer, and Associate Technical Fellow Devron Hanks inspect wiring layouts inside the B-1 bomber as part of the Integrated Battle Station upgrade; Boeing’s B-1 bomber enters its fourth decade of service with the U.S. Air Force with modernized cockpits, software and capabilities; Dedric Lary, left, Maintenance and Repair specialist, and contractor John Caswell inspect the B-1 bomber’s lower wing skin for cracks or indications of stress. Bob Ferguson | Boeing AUGUST 2015 25
Frontiers August 2015 Issue
To see the actual publication please follow the link above