Jumped-up JSTARS: MP-RTIP Technology for Ground Surveillance Planes?
Related Stories: Americas - USA, C4ISR, Contracts - Awards, Northrop-Grumman, Radars, Specialty Aircraft, Support Functions - Other
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“E-10A: She’s Dead, Jim” chronicled the end of the US military’s E-10 program. The E-10A sought to combine the functions of 707-based E-3 AWACS aerial surveillance and command aircraft and E-8 JSTARS ground surveillance planes, all packaged in a single 767-400 jet. Advances in modern electronics made the project thinkable, but budgetary constraints killed in in early 2007.
E-10A had 2 key technologies: the MP-RTIP (Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Program) wide-scan AESA radar, and the updated Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) mission suite that would be used as the aircraft’s nerve center. Adding BMC2 to existing aircraft would involve substantial rewiring and other “deep maintenance” work, but adding the MP-RTIP radar is less difficult. The USA’s 17-plane E-8C JSTARS fleet has been an invaluable contributor, and is currently undergoing both system upgrades and a re-engining program, in order to improve aircraft readiness and operating costs. Northrop Grumman has been pressing for an E-8C radar upgrade that would leverage well over half a billion dollars worth of work on MP-RTIP and improve E-8 scan resolution by a factor of 5x-10x, rather than leaving Northrop Grumman’s RQ-4B Block 40 as the sole focus for a cut-down version of that technology. Now, there seems to be a glimmer of light on that front…
Contracts and Key Events
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Nov 4/08: Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. of El Segundo, CA receives a $5.8 million cost reimbursement with award fee contract modification. They will perform a risk reduction study to examine the full extent of the effort required to integrate the MP-RTIP radar onto the E-8 JSTARS platform. All funds have alreadybeen committed by Hanscom AFB, MA (F19629-00-C-0100, Modification P00153).
