The E-8A Joint STARS surveillance platform flies the 50th Joint STARS mission for Operation Joint Endeavor, breaking a sortie record set in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Despite the E- 8’s successes in these two operations, Joint STARS is still officially in development.
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…