Boeing has been contracted for B-1 and B-52 long-range bomber engineering services.
The contract, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Defense, is worth more than $400 million.
According to a statement, this contract provides for recurring and non-recurring engineering services to B-1 and B-52 aircraft.
Work will be performed at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma; Edwards Air Force Base, California; Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is expected to be complete by Dec. 31, 2019.
The Boeing B-52 primarily provides the United States with immediate nuclear and conventional global strike capability. The B-52 is the most combat capable bomber in the U.S. inventory. Due to its high mission-capable rate, large payload, long range, persistence and ability to employ both nuclear and conventional precision standoff weapons, the B-52 continues to be a critical contributor to the U.S. National Security Strategy.
The B-1B Lancer is a long-range, multi-mission, supersonic conventional bomber, which has served the United States Air Force since 1985. The aircraft is on track to continue flying, at current demanding operations tempo, out to 2040 and beyond. Originally designed for nuclear capabilities, the B-1 switched to an exclusively conventional combat role in the mid-1990s. In 1999, during Operation Allied Force, six B-1s flew 2 percent of the strike missions, yet dropped 20 percent of the ordnance, and during Operation Enduring Freedom the B-1 flew on 2 percent of the sorties while dropping over 40 percent of the precision weapons. The B-1 has been nearly continuously deployed in combat operations over Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.