Pentagon budget 2016: USAF to delay JSTARS recap

[Saifullah Sani]

The USAF has delayed a replacement effort for the E-8C JSTARS. Source: Northrop Grumman

Significance

• The USAF plans to delay its JSTARS recapitalisation effort
• The transition to a new platform in FY 2023 followed by the E-8C retirement in FY 2025 will now be even more abrupt

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.

"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.

COMMENT
News of the programme's delay is likely to come not only as a disappointment, but also as a surprise to industry because the USAF's FY 2015 budget request initiated the JSTARS recapitalisation programme and officials have been discussing the acquisition strategy since then. Top contenders for the work such as Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and L-3 Communications will now have more time to craft their strategies.

Pentagon budget 2016: USAF to delay JSTARS recap - IHS Jane's 360