NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.–The Air Force’s Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) recapitalization program request for proposals (RFP) is ready to go, but top acquisition officials said Wednesday they are delaying the release due to concerns over language in the Senate version of the fiscal year 2017 defense authorization bill.
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Darlene Costello said the Senate’s FY ’17 defense authorization bill requires JSTARS to have a fixed price contract for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) portion of the program. She said the Air Force currently has a hybrid approach of cost-plus and fixed price portions for EMD. Costello added the fixed price portion of the program is mostly in procurement, but there were some other fixed-price portions in the program.
In its bill report, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) said it believes a fixed price development and production contract structure is more appropriate for this program than a cost plus/incentive fee contract as the
program’s aim is to integrate mission systems onto a commercial derivative aircraft, similarly to the KC-46A tanker recapitalization program.
Costello also said the Senate bill language says what the Air Force can, and cannot, use for risk reduction funding, which she said is all of the service’s FY ’17 funding for JSTARS recap. While a FY ’17 defense authorization bill has not been signed into law, Costello said the Air Force understands lawmakers’ intentions and would like to work with them as best as possible. Lawmakers from the House and Senate are currently hashing out their differences in conference.
JSTARS recap is one of the Air Force’s most anticipated programs. The service anticipates spending roughly $1.2 billion on the program through FY ’20 if the program survives internal budget battles in its current form.
Costello said the program’s requirements have not changed and that she expects the program to be an integration effort as opposed to a “high-risk” type of development program. The Air Force, she said, expects to get some additional capability out of the radar technology by using an existing radar modified for the platform that has matured over time.
Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Military Deputy, Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch said though the JSTARS recap requirement is to provide the aircraft’s existing capability, the service is also expecting an open mission system. This, he said, would give the Air Force the flexibility that if it needs to do a jump to other linkages or capabilities it will be built into the system so it can evolve with the technology or threat.
Costello’s and Bunch’s remarks came here at the Air Force Association’s (AFA) annual convention.