NORTHROP GRUMMAN HAS received a six-month US Air Force study contract to identify modifications required to enable E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (J-STARS) aircraft to be used in NATO contingency operations.
The US company, supported by nine European firms, will review NATO documentation to identify the modifications needed, develop a draft system-architecture and determine the cost, schedule and risk involved in enabling the E-8 battlefield-surveillance aircraft to be operated within NATO's command, control, communications and intelligence infrastructure.
Two E-8A development aircraft were deployed during the 1991 Gulf War, and the USAF has a contingency capability even though J-STARS development is still under way. NATO, meanwhile, has a requirement for a battlefield-surveillance aircraft, for which the J-STARS is a leading contender.
Source: Flight International