JSTARS shaping up to be battle of aircraft, not providers

a reply to: Zaphod58

Apparently Kendall feels the USAF didn't do a great job with the JSTARS program and has told them to work more on the project before moving onto the next phase.

a reply to: anzha

They didn't. There is no reason to have that much variation in platforms if the RFP is worded right.

a reply to: Zaphod58

It seems the concern is the radar: the US Air Force is going to do risk reduction work with the vendors prior to going to JSTARS RFP.

a reply to: anzha

Both radars are brand new so that doesn't surprise me.

LaPlantte summed up everything I've been screaming about with the leadership for so long.

They're fighting to use Global Hawks instead and may kill the replacement altogether if they can. But he said that they had 8-10 E-8s in the Depot and they're going to start falling out of the sky in 2017 (they're all hard used airframes bought in the 80s). The replacement program won't be seeing active platforms until 2026.

They've been fighting over how to replace it since before he entered the office and are still fighting the same battles.

a reply to: Zaphod58

An air force programme to recapitalise the timeworn Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or JSTARS, is moving forward with the Pentagon’s blessing after receiving “Milestone A” approval from the US military’s top weapons buyer last week.

The long-awaited and much debated acquisition decision clears the JSTARS Recap programme to begin maturing key technologies and reducing programme risk in earnest ahead of a formal competition expected in 2017.

The approval – signed by Department of Defence (DOD) acquisition chief Frank Kendall on 10 December – comes after considerable debate, with some within the DOD arguing against JSTARS, in favour of more dependence on other platforms for radar surveillance and target tracking, like the unmanned Northrop RQ-4 Global Hawk Block 40.

link.

According to the Air Force the prototype could be flying by 2021 and reach IOC by 2023.