Joint Stars upgrades headed for Iraq By Amy Butler Aviation Week & Space Technology February 26, 2007 The U.S. Air Force expects to finish two upgrades to its Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint Stars) this month to improve operations with ground troops in Iraq. The first improvements will allow E-8C operators to communicate with others on a secret network while in flight via e-mail and through classified chat rooms, according to Col. Michael Graham, Joint Stars program manager at Hanscom AFB, Mass. Joint Stars is a battle management platform of at least 18 operators coupled with a 24-ft. phased array radar antenna capable of identifying and tracking mobile ground and air targets. The Air Force has 19 Joint Stars aircraft--17 operational, one for testing and one for pilot training. Lt. Gen. Gary North, commander of U.S. Central Command Air Forces, says the military has been "breaking ground" with new collaboration techniques among various intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms during the war in Iraq. The results of sharing data via chat rooms have been positive, he says, in helping to identify and destroy targets on the ground. Joint Stars is often used to track targets that are then confirmed using data from a signals intelligence collector, for example. The second new capability will allow operators on Joint Stars to better understand the positions of troops who have a blue-force tracking device in hand. The goal of this project is to better plan air strikes and avoid friendly fire. Both efforts were quick-reaction requests made from U.S. Central Command and have been in development and production for about 18 months. The final installation should be complete by month's end, according to Graham. Also underway is a program called the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement to add software and algorithms to extend the Joint Stars radar's long-range tracking capability for a maritime interdiction role to support U.S. Navy requirements. During a demonstration called Resultant Fury in 2004, a Joint Stars coupled with the Joint Direct Attack Munition equipped with a data link sank a moving surface ship. The Air Force has since funded the improvements to Joint Stars and the JDAM. Upgrades began at the end of 2006, and the capability should be fielded this year. Improvements should be complete across the fleet by the end of Fiscal 2009. Also included in the Fiscal 2008 budget are plans, although embryonic, to add a two-way data link to the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile to achieve greater range against surface ships. Meanwhile, the program office is sorting out the details of a $750-million reengining program with prime contractor Northrop Grumman. Powerplants for the Joint Stars have been a major driver in reliability problems, and the number of engine-related inflight emergencies has increased recently, as well, according to a program official. Though they are not life-threatening, "from time to time you have one and they have to come back to base" before a training or operational mission is completed, the official adds. After a protracted solicitation period, Northrop Grumman selected Pratt & Whitney's JT8D-219s to replace the JT3D-3Bs now in use. The Pratt engines were expected to be chosen, but the Air Force insisted on a competition. General Electric submitted a proposal, although it was considered a long shot. Also included in the program are new pylons, cowlings and other associated hardware. Nonrecurring engineering work to integrate the engines is expected to begin by the end of February. Engine trials on the Joint Stars test aircraft are planned for mid-2008 with installations on operational aircraft beginning about a year later. Installations are now scheduled through Fiscal 2013, though Graham says there's interest at Air Force headquarters in accelerating the work. The new engines will provide more reliability and fuel efficiency, and allow the aircraft to reach higher altitudes for better look angles at various targets. Program officials are exploring options for timing installations without disrupting service to commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan. The aircraft could get the engines (which take about a month to install) during programmed depot maintenance at Northrop Grumman's Lake Charles, La., facility. Another option is dubbed "speedline," because it would retrofit the airframes as quickly as possible in a row. The work would not have to be completed at Lake Charles, Graham says, adding that he is exploring other options. Meanwhile, the Air Force is grappling with whether to fund a major improvement to the Joint Stars radar. The Northrop Grumman-Raytheon Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program (MP-RTIP) upgrade was originally pitched as an unsolicited proposal for the E-8C. However, the Air Force began a program, called the E-10, to place a larger MP-RTIP antenna on a 767 for improved ground surveillance as well as cruise missile defense. The active electronically scanned array radar would be able to detect stealthy and slow-moving airborne targets as well as use directed energy to spoof or disable them. The E-10, however, was terminated in the Fiscal 2008 budget, leaving defense planners without a system to meet their goal of fielding a nascent cruise missile defense capability in 2009. The Joint Stars antenna would be smaller than the one planned for the E-10, but Graham says it would provide a "limited" cruise missile defense, and sources suggest the radar's inherent electronic attack capabilities could allow for self-defense from hostile missiles as well. (Archives)