Lockheed Martin,Raytheon and Bombardier have teamed up on a joint bid to deliver a low risk,affordable solution for the US Air Force JSTARS Recapitalization Program.The firms promise to provide the Air Force with capabilities superior to the current JSTARS,with a true open architecture that allows the government to own the technology baseline for further upgrades and reduce lifecycle cost.
Lockheed Martin will be lead systems integrator for the project;Raytheon will bring their experience with ground surveillance,intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance,mission systems integration and JSTARS communications to the team.Bombardier will provide its ultra-long-range Global business jet platform,less costly to operate than a modern airliner,and uniquely suited to the JSTARS mission by allowing onboard radar to see further and deeper into valleys and survey the battlespace for long periods of time without refueling,Lockheed Martin said in a press release.
Bombardier,based in Montreal,added that the track record it built over the past years with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) programme for the Air Force using the Bombardier Global platform makes it very well positioned in this market segment.A concept illustration depicts the Global business aircraft air frame with several antennae on the undersides of the wings,plus radomes above and beneath the fuselage.
The JSTARS mission,standing for Joint Surveillance Attack Radar System,is currently carried out by Boeing 707 E-8C aircraft.These aging planes have been heavily utilised since the 9-11 attacks,averaging 19.4 hours per day.
The Air Force needs ground-moving target indicators,said Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh.That intelligence has been phenomenally successful:all the combatant commanders want it.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT),Raytheon (RTN),Bombardier (TSX:BBD:B)
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