E-8C Joint STARS

The Only Total Weapons System of Its Kind

The Northrop Grumman E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System – known as Joint STARS – is the U.S. Air Force's premier airborne C2ISR platform. The only total weapons system of its kind, Joint STARS has provided air-to-ground battle management C2 and surveillance operations to U.S. combatant commands for more than 25 years in support of military operations, disaster relief, peacekeeping and counter-drug missions.

More Relevant Than Ever

While Joint STARS was conceptualized as a means of tracking during the Cold War, the fleet is more relevant than ever, operating at surge levels since 2002. Today, it is the only platform in the U.S. arsenal that combines accurate wide-area moving target detection with synthetic aperture radar imagery to locate, classify and track targets in all weather conditions from standoff distances.

Joint STARS offers battlefield commanders real-time situational information, while simultaneously transmitting target locations to aircraft and ground strike forces. It has flown more than 130,000 combat hours since 9/11 supporting operations globally, including Operation Inherent Resolve over Iraq and Syria.