U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue on Tuesday introduced an amendment to the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act that would ensure that the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) is maintained as a national defense priority and not, as has been floated as a possibility, retired from service in the next several years.
JSTARS is essentially a fleet of modified Boeing 707-300’s containing advanced radar, communications, operations, and control subsystems used across the globe by the U.S. Air Force. The first two aircraft were deployed in Operation Desert Storm, and the fleet now contains 16 total planes that have flown more than 85,000 combat hours supporting six separate Combatant Commands.
Maintaining the fleet, which is based out of Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, has been a priority for Georgia’s representatives in Washington. Last week Isakson and Perdue, along with U.S. Reps. Austin Scott, Sanford Bishop, and Tom Graves, sent a letter to Defense Secretary James Mattis urging him not to waste taxpayer money by continuing to explore alternatives to the JSTARS program when multiple studies have advocated for its recapitalization and continued use.
The amendment is a more official means of achieving that goal, prohibiting the use of funds by the Air Force to prematurely retire the program and requiring the Department of Defense to continue with the current recapitalization of JSTARS unless the secretary of defense can certify that there will not be increased capability gaps.
Said Isakson on the amendment, “Our number one priority is ensuring that the men and women in uniform have the best available tools at their disposal when we send them into battle. JSTARS provides unparalleled battle management, command and control, and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. It has proven itself indispensable in our campaign to defeat ISIL, in counter-terrorism operations, and even during the current hurricane disaster responses. We will fight against any effort to prematurely retire this critical national defense asset. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment to ensure we do not leave our warfighters with a capabilities gap in future missions.”
Perdue echoed those sentiments, saying “Make no mistake, our military needs to have cutting edge platforms and equipment to use in combat today and in the future. Today, JSTARS is our nation’s premier Battle Management, Command and Control (BMC2) asset used in theater. In fact, right now, the Air Force does not have another asset that can sufficiently replace JSTARS capabilities. It’s extremely concerning that the Air Force is considering ending this critical program without a plan to avoid a potential extended capability gap.”
Perdue, as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee has already had major input on the NDAA. With Isakson’s help it seems likely that he will have the clout to add on an amendment that would not only preserve a key Air Force program but also help the many Georgians invested in its care in Warner Robins.
