The Joint STARS Communications and Network Upgrade (CNU) program successfully installed, tested and fielded the first of its Multifunctional Information Distribution System Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS JTRS) terminals, according to the Air Force.
This makes Joint STARS, formally known as the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, the first Air Force system to fully retrofit new terminals that will improve warfighter communication. Joint STARS is an airborne battle management, command and control (C2), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platform. Joint STARS, developed by Northrop Grumman [NOC], is to provide theater ground and air commanders with ground surveillance to support attack operations.
Air Force 2nd Lieutenant Samantha Sarkis said recently in a statement the CNU program is worth $16.5 million. Sarkis also said MIDS JTRS will be installed on three additional aircraft: the RC-135V/W Rivet Joint, the EC-130H Compass Call and the EC-130E Senior Scout. Rivet Joint is developed by L-3 Communications [LLL] while the Compass Call is made by BAE Systems.
MIDS JTRS replaces the Joint Tactical Information Distribution System Class Two Terminals currently operating on the rest of the Joint STARS fleet and provides secure data and voice communications among airborne, ground and seaborne platforms, enhancing communication and battle management capabilities. It is also compatible with a Link 16 network, which is the primary Tactical Data Link exchange for all air-to-air and air-to-ground communications.
Link 16 provides military units and platforms with a secure data network for the exchange of near real-time tactical data, including text messages, imagery and digital voice. MIDS JTRS not only offers the Link 16 compatibility, but does so in a form factor that is half the size, half the weight and uses half the power consumption of the current class two terminals.
The first MIDS JTRS-equipped Joint STARS aircraft was delivered Feb. 20 to the 116th and 461st Air Control Wing at Robins AFB, Ga. Sarkis said the MIDS JTRS effort has taken place since 2009.
The MIDS JTRS installation took place simultaneously with two other retrofit efforts. While Northrop Grumman was installing the CNU equipment, they also installed an upgrade to blue force tracking tools and an Enhanced Land Maritime Mode (ELMM) capability, which improves Joint STARS ground moving target indication accuracy and maritime tracking capabilities.
Northrop Grumman and the Joint STARS program office plan to complete the remaining 15 MIDS JTRS installations by March 2015, according to the Air Force. Sarkis said 16 total aircraft will receive MIDS JTRS terminals. Sarkis said two terminals go on each aircraft for a total of 32 total terminals.
Joint STARS, a joint Army-Air Force program, uses a multi-mode slide looking radar to detect, track and classify moving ground vehicles in all conditions deep behind enemy lines. The E-8C, a modified Boeing [BA] 707-300 commercial airframe, is the only platform in operation that can maintain real-time surveillance over a corps-sized area of the battlefield, according to the Air Force.