The U.S. Air Force has deployed an E-8C Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft to Germany, according to a recent U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa news release.
An E-8C battle management aircraft assigned to the 116th Air Control Wing, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., has deployed to Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
This aircraft is the U.S. Air Force’s primary platform for battle management and tracking of ground targets. Its primary mission is to provide theater ground and air commanders with ground surveillance to support attack operations and targeting that contributes to the delay, disruption and destruction of enemy forces.
The radar and computer subsystems on the E-8C can gather and display detailed battlefield information on ground forces. The information is relayed in near-real time to the Army and Marine Corps common ground stations and to other ground command, control, communications, computers and intelligence, or C4I, nodes.
The E-8C is a modified Boeing 707-300 series commercial airframe extensively remanufactured and modified with the radar, communications, operations and control subsystems required to perform its operational mission. The most prominent external feature is the 27-foot (8 meters) long, canoe-shaped radome under the forward fuselage that houses the 24-foot (7.3 meters) long, side-looking phased array antenna.
The deployment of JSTARS to the European theater demonstrates U.S. commitment to our allies and partners in the region.