{"id":32215,"date":"2023-10-02T22:19:56","date_gmt":"2023-10-02T22:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2023\/10\/02\/air-forces-jstars-flies-last-intel-mission-after-3-decades-in-service\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:20:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:20:45","slug":"air-forces-jstars-flies-last-intel-mission-after-3-decades-in-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/10\/02\/air-forces-jstars-flies-last-intel-mission-after-3-decades-in-service\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force\u2019s JSTARS flies last intel mission after 3 decades in service"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The stalwart E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System plane flew its last operational mission Sept. 21, capping a three-decade career as a military \u201ceye in the sky\u201d in conflicts from Operation Desert Storm to the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sortie is a stepping stone on the airframe\u2019s journey into retirement<\/a>, as the Air Force reshapes its inventory for the demands of modern combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bittersweet,\u201d 116th Air Control Wing boss Col. Christopher Dunlap said in a release Monday<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve been flying this mission on this aircraft since the spring of 2003. There\u2019s been a lot of changes over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. airmen with the 116th Air Control Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, sign an engine of an E-8C Joint STARS for its last mission at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, Sept. 21. (Master Sgt. Jeff Rice\/Air National Guard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

JSTARS is a modified Boeing 707 that uses a long sensor on the belly of the jet to track the movement of ground forces around a region and share that information with other aircraft and troops below. Combat units rely on the fleet to highlight potential targets and stop friendly forces from veering into harm\u2019s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its final mission departed from Ramstein Air Base in Germany, a hub for U.S. military operations across Europe and points farther south. The Air Force declined to answer where the sortie took place or what it entailed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe aircraft\u2019s sensors provided invaluable intelligence, guiding strategic decisions on the ground and enhancing operational effectiveness,\u201d the service said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fleet\u2019s exit from military operations signals the end of an era in battlefield intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

E-8Cs have flown in military operations from Desert Storm in 1991 to Iraq and Afghanistan a decade later, to the surveillance of Russian troops amassed at Ukraine\u2019s border. They have also assisted in noncombat missions like transnational drug busts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fleet withdrew from U.S. Central Command in 2019 after an 18-year deployment supporting counterterror operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe E-8C JSTARS has played a vital role in countless operations, supporting troops and safeguarding nations,\u201d the Air Force said on Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fleet, which included 16 operational jets when retirement began, has been managed by two Air Force units: the active duty 461st Air Control Wing and the Georgia Air National Guard\u2019s 116th ACW, both at Robins Air Force Base<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Together, they have flown more than 14,000 sorties since 2002, when they merged as the service\u2019s first \u201cblended\u201d wing, the service said. The 461st ACW logged its last operational sortie in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. airmen with the 116th Air Control Wing, Georgia Air National Guard, pose in front an E-8C Joint STARS for its last mission at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Sept. 18. (Master Sgt. Jeff Rice\/Air National Guard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Plans to sunset the JSTARS fleet have gradually come to fruition over the past several years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force briefly launched an effort to solicit another aircraft to replace JSTARS but abandoned that program in fiscal 2019. After sparring with Congress over the fate of the fleet, the service began retiring E-8Cs in February 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of maintaining a vast inventory of jets that are purpose-built for highly specialized missions, the Air Force now wants to use a network of satellites, aircraft sensors and ground radars to collect the same targeting and tracking data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service hopes that approach will make it more resilient against potential attacks on its command-and-control enterprise, save money on aircraft maintenance and use its airmen more effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of the original 16 aircraft remain at Robins, according to the Air Force release. The last JSTARS is slated to depart for the Air Force\u2019s graveyard of retired aircraft at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, during the first week of November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airmen may still use the jet for flight proficiency training until it is formally retired, Air Force spokesperson Capt. Dustin Cole said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As its centerpiece fleet dwindles, Robins has started taking on new missions that the Air Force views as more relevant in future wars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine E-11A airborne communications relay planes<\/a> will be based at the central Georgia installation, as well as a command-and-control squadron, a group focused on electromagnetic spectrum warfare, and an office to handle the Air Force\u2019s acquisition of future communications technologies known as the Advanced Battle Management System.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some airmen are already working to open those units, while others are in training to staff them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t expect a wing who has a long history of excellence to sit around and do nothing when there is plenty of work left to do,\u201d Dunlap said in an emailed statement. \u201cIt is not in our DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The jets have amassed more than 141,000 hours in combat since Operation Desert Storm in 1991.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":71763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":7,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[7,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3484],"class_list":["post-32215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-air","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"WTHHNIMK2FDTLJE243U6SDAIEM","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2023\/10\/02\/air-forces-jstars-flies-last-intel-mission-after-3-decades-in-service\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nAir Force\u2019s JSTARS flies last intel mission after 3 decades in service - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The jets have amassed more than 141,000 hours in combat since Operation Desert Storm in 1991.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force\u2019s JSTARS flies last intel mission after 3 decades in service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The jets have amassed more than 141,000 hours in combat since Operation Desert Storm in 1991.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/air\/2023\/10\/02\/air-forces-jstars-flies-last-intel-mission-after-3-decades-in-service\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Defense News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-10-02T22:19:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T21:20:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rachel S. 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