Northrop Grumman wins USAF E-8C Joint STARS support contract.

This is the 18th TSSR contract renewal for Northrop Grumman as part of the Joint STARS program. The company will continue providing program management, engineering technical support, supply chain and spares management, aircrew training, technical data and customer support with the objectives of maximizing aircraft available for operational and training use and reducing program cost.

“Our 32-year Joint STARS partnership with the Air Force provides us with an in-depth understanding of this powerful mission domain. Over several decades, we have responded to this ever-evolving battlespace by affordably adding 27 different capabilities. We continue to collaborate closely with our customer to keep the high-demand E-8C fleet available and mission capable -- ahead of emerging threats to support our combatant commanders,” said Bryan Lima, director, manned C2ISR program, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems.

“The Air Force and Northrop Grumman will continue to work to increase aircraft availability while reducing cost on the Joint STARS system to provide the best value for our customers and to deliver this critical capability to our combatant commanders,” said Colonel Ray Wier, System Program Manager, C2ISR Division, Battle Management Directorate, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, U.S. Air Force.

Joint STARS offers battlefield commanders real-time situational information, while simultaneously transmitting target locations to aircraft and ground strike forces. Joint STARS is the only platform in the U.S. arsenal that combines accurate wide-area moving target detection with synthetic aperture radar imagery to locate, classify and track ground targets in all weather conditions from standoff distances. The fleet has flown over 130,000 combat mission hours in support of CENTCOM since September 11, 2001.

The 116th ACW and 461st ACW are part of a 2,500 person total force organization comprised of Georgia Air National Guard and active duty Air Force Airmen. In September 2017, the 461st Air Control Wing’s Crew Four was honored by the Air Force Association as the 2016 Airborne Battle Management (ABM) Crew of the Year. The Joint STARS team has won the ABM crew award 15 of the 16 years that it has been awarded.

In addition to work at Robins Air Force Base, TSSR is supported by employees and partners at the Northrop Grumman Manned Aircraft Design Center of Excellence in Melbourne, Florida, the Lake Charles Maintenance and Modification Center, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and more than 30 major suppliers across the United States.