Northrop Grumman's E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) requires "significant improvements" to meet its performance requirements, says a US Air Force test report. The US Department of Defense (DoD) has approved production of 19 JSTARS aircraft despite an operational-evaluation report, which is critical of the system's capability (Flight International, 2-8 October).
Operational evaluation of the JSTARS was conducted earlier this year during deployment of two prototype E-8s in support of Operation Joint Endeavour (OJE) in Bosnia. "Notwithstanding its acknowledged military utility in Desert Storm and OJE, many of the required capabilities of JSTARS have not yet been demonstrated," warns the report, by the DoD's director, operational test and evaluation.
The report cites problems with radar masking and clutter, communications, software and the airframe. The JSTARS "-has not demonstrated the ability to operate at the required maximum altitude-exceeded the break rate and failed the mission-reliability rate-[and] did not achieve the effective time-on-station requirement", the report says.
"Although JSTARS met its availability requirement during OJE, it is very unlikely that it would have done so without significant contractor support," the report says. The converted Boeing 707 airframes "-have experienced significant structural problems which are requiring repairs," the report continues. "The aircraft-cannot use NATO-standard 8,000ft [2,400m] runways without reducing its fuel load," evaluators say.
"The system software-is currently immature- [and] needs substantial improvement" for safety, availability and maintainability, the report says.
Defending its decision to proceed with production, the DoD says a software update planned for April 1997 will address the majority of problems.
Source: Flight International
