Industry
U.S. Air Force to replace B-52 bomber weapon pylons with fiber-optic, gigabit links
The U.S. Air Force is pursuing a modernisation programme to replace wing weapon pylons on 75 B-52H strategic bombers with new digital equipment. The upgrade applies a next-generation interface supporting fiber-optic connections and gigabit-class data transfer and is expected to improve data exchange with precision-guided weapons. Budget documents cite higher payload requirements, with a new pylon designed for up to 20,000 pounds of conventional or nuclear weapons.