U.S. Air Force aircraft maintainers from Team JSTARS, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, launch an E-8C Joint STARS during Valiant Shield 18, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Sept. 18, 2018. Valiant Shield 18 is a biennial, U.S.-only, field training exercise with a focus on integration of joint training among U.S. forces in relation to current operational plans. This training enables real-world proficiency in sustaining joint forces through detecting, locating, tracking and engaging units at sea, in the air, on land, and in cyberspace in response to a range of mission areas. Team JSTARS, consisting of the Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Wing (ACW), active duty personnel assigned to the 461st ACW and Army JSTARS, provides a unique, manned, joint airborne command control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capability to combatant commanders worldwide. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons)
By Vivienne Machi |
@VivienneMachi
5 years ago |
09/30/2019

Northrop Grumman [NOC] has received two Air Force contracts worth a collective $1.88 billion right at the end of fiscal year 2019.

The service said Sept. 27 it awarded Northrop Grumman a $495 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft.

U.S. Air Force aircraft maintainers from Team JSTARS, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, launch an E-8C Joint STARS during Valiant Shield 18, Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, Sept. 18, 2018. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons)

The contract provides for modernization and sustainment of 16 mission and one trainer aircraft, and will support the current JSTARS Program Office and Air Combat Command projections of improvements to increase or maintain E-8C performance, capability, reliability, and maintainability, per the award announcement. The Air Force opted to cancel the projected JSTARS recapitalization competition in the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and shift funding to its new advanced battle management system (ABMS) architecture instead.

Work on the JSTARS modernization will be provided at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia; and Melbourne, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 26, 2024. Fiscal 2019 Air National Guard operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $55,345 are being obligated at the time of award.

The Air Force on Friday also awarded Northrop Grumman a $1.4 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Embedded GPS Inertial Navigation System Modernization (EGI/EGI-M) follow-on production and sustainment. Northrop Grumman in February won a $59 million contract for the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the program, which will incorporate new generation GPS receivers to transmit “M-code” military space signals onto the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor fighter aircraft and the Navy’s E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft.

This new contract provides for production, sustainment and engineering technical services in support of the EGI/EGI-M system. Work will be performed at Woodland Hills, California; and Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 26, 2032, per the award announcement. The award was the result of a sole-source acquisition, and foreign military sales funds in the amount of $17,645 were obligated at the time of award.