USAF To Delay JSTARS Recap.

The US Air Force (USAF) plans to delay a competition to produce a new air-ground surveillance aircraft to replace the ageing Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS), according to the service's fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016) budget request released on 2 February.

USAF To Delay JSTARS Recap.

"The draft acquisition strategy was refined, restructuring the Technology Maturation Risk Reduction acquisition phase," said a summary of the budget request. "Although this refinement addresses the programme's top integration risks earlier in the programme's lifecycle, it pushes the Initial Operational Capability out to FY 2023."

To fund JSTARS recapitalisation, the air force plans to divest the E-8C test capability, including the T-3 test aircraft, and placed the E-8C on a gradual retirement plan with an end date between FY 2025-26. 

The plan would also delay the retirement of five Boeing E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) Sentry aircraft to FY 2019 from FY 2016 "to help meet the needs of military commanders". 

The request retains modernisation funding for the remaining AWACS fleet, allowing for continued fielding of the E-3G variant by enhancing the electronic protection capability of the E-3 radar and equipping the platform with advanced tactical data links.

The current JSTARS is based on a Boeing 707 commercial airliner, but USAF officials have said they are studying business-class jets instead of another wide-body aircraft as a replacement platform. They are conducting cost-capability analysis and working with Air Combat Command to fully understand the military's needs so that they do not overspend on the programme.

The E-8C has a crew of 21, including two pilots, a flight engineer, a combat systems operator, an intelligence officer or enlisted position, five technicians, and three army positions, with the remainder conducting battle management. The JSTARS crew is expected to reduce due to transitioning to a smaller air vehicle coupled with the advances made to the systems.