The Air Force this week sent a draft request for proposals to industry for the next generation JSTARS, saying the full RFP is “in final coordination.” The Air Force on Tuesday evening released a memorandum to industry and a draft of the RFP “in support of the government’s continuing efforts to disseminate relevant program information to industry.” The draft RFP isn’t publicly released, though the actual request is expected to be released in the near future. The Air Force expects to award the contract for the aircraft in 2017, with possible initial operational capability coming in 2023. The Pentagon approved the recapitalization program in December, and several stakeholders including industry and Congress are pressing the service to move faster. Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman have all discussed their proposals for the JSTARS Recap. The Air Force is separately pursuing “risk reduction” development efforts with both Northrop Grumman and Raytheon on the radar which JSTARS Recap will carry, and the primes have been advised to look at both radars for potential inclusion in their proposals. (See also: The JSTARS Recap from the February 2015 issue of Air Force Magazine.)
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…