Air Force Secretary Deborah James “hopes and expects” a previously delayed Milestone A decision for the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) recapitalization program will occur by the end of 2015.
James told Defense Daily last week that the Defense Acquisition Board (DAB) in September declined to approve a Milestone A decision because Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) Frank Kendall wanted some additional information on a variety of technical issues. Kendall spokeswoman Maureen Schumann deferred a request for comment to the Air Force, who declined to comment Monday.
“We expect we’re going to be proceeding accordingly,” James said Dec. 2.
Milestone A is a decision made early in the acquisition cycle on whether to enter the technology development phase from materiel solution analysis. To pass Milestone A, the Milestone Decision Authority must approve the proposed materiel solution (based on the analysis of alternatives) and the acquisition strategy, the lead component must submit a cost estimate for the proposed solution (including lifecycle costs), the program must have full funding for the length of the future years defense program (FYDP) and if technology maturation is to be contracted out, the program must have a request for proposals (RFP) that is approved by the Milestone Decision Authority and ready for release.
Speculation has been brewing over the future of JSTARS recap after the delayed Milestone A decision, public statements by service officials plus a $15 billion budget hole the Pentagon needs to fill for fiscal year 2016 after lawmakers hammered out a budget deal relaxing sequestration related budget caps. William LaPlante, former assistant Air Force secretary for acquisition, said in November that the fate of JSTARS recap was out of the Air Force’s hands, but both James and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh have said this is routine.
“Of course, everything to a certain degree now is with (the Office of the Secretary of Defense) and, ultimately, will be (with) the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the president,” James said. “Our position is very well known and I expect that we will move forward.”
The Air Force requested $44 million in fiscal year 2016 for JSTARS recap and anticipates spending roughly $1.2 billion on the program through fiscal year 2020, according to budget documents.
Lockheed Martin [LMT], Northrop Grumman [NOC] and Boeing [BA] are competing for JSTARS recap. Lockheed Martin is offering a Bombardier airframe while Northrop Grumman is teaming with Gulfstream, a division of General Dynamics [GD], and L-3 Communications [LLL]. Despite a previous Lockheed Martin announcement that it was teaming with Raytheon [RTN], Raytheon said in September it had not exclusively teamed with any prime for JSTARS recap.