The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a $178 million contract to continue sustaining the service's entire E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) aircraft. The contract is a continuation of Northrop Grumman's Total System Support Reliability (TSSR) program, which was first awarded in 2000.
Through the TSSR program, Northrop Grumman is responsible for the logistics, engineering, training, mission support, supply chain, and depot maintenance support of the Joint STARS fleet at Robins Air Force Base, Ga., and forward operating locations overseas. The program has maintained superior performance ratings throughout the contract's 13-year history, according to the contractor.
"By affordably extending the life of the aircraft, Joint STARS remains the world's premier airborne battle management and command and control system," says Bryan Lima, Joint STARS program director, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. "Sustainment ensures that the platform remains relevant and continues delivering this critical capability to our warfighters."
In addition to work at Robins Air Force Base, TSSR is supported by key personnel at the Northrop Grumman Manned Aircraft Design Center of Excellence in Melbourne, Fla., the Lake Charles Maintenance and Modification Center, La., and more than 30 major suppliers across the United States.
Recently, the U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a $43 million contract to retrofit the E-8C Joint STARS aircraft, trainers and laboratories with replacement computers and other upgrades to operator work stations.
Source: Northrop Grumman Corp.