Air Force Launches $7 Billion JSTARS Competition
http://aviationweek.com/defense/air-force-launches-7-billion-jstars-competition
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has launched another multi-billion dollar aircraft competition, this time to replace its fleet of second-hand Boeing 707-300-based Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Jstars) tank hunters that first deployed as part of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
On top of an $80 billion program for 100 Northrop B-21 Raiders and $3.2 billion Boeing Air Force One procurement, the Air Force also wants 17 radar-carrying battlefield surveillance, battle management and command-and-control aircraft, with initial operational capability preferably sooner than fiscal 2024. The request for proposals (RFP) issued Dec. 28 is valued at $6.9 billion for development and production, about $400 million higher than estimates published in the Government Accountability Office in March.
Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Boeing are already in the running, but surprise bids from companies such as Sierra Nevada Corp., which competed for an earlier risk-reduction phase, are also possible. Read more at Aviation Week.