조기경보기 E-8C JSTARS, 퇴역

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https://www.airandspaceforces.com/last-jstars-e-8-retires

11월 15일 미공군 제116 항공통제비행단 소속 E-8C가 조지아주 무디 공군기지를 떠났다고 하네요. 마지막 작전 출격은 9월 21일 독일 람슈타인 공군기지에서 실시했었다고 합니다. 

JSTARS는 1991년 걸프전을 시작으로 32년 동안 작전출격 14,000회, 비행시간 141,000시간 이상을 기록하며 테러와의 전쟁에서 핵심적인 역할을 수행했고 우-러 전쟁 초반엔 동유럽 상공에서도 임무를 수행했습니다. 

A U.S. Airman with the 116th Air Control Wing marshalls the last E-8C Joint STARS for takeoff during the Team JSTARS Sunset Celebration, at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, Nov. 4, 2023. U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jeff Rice

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JSTARS Flies West: USAF Retires Its Last E-8C

Nov. 16, 2023 | By Greg Hadley

It’s official: JSTARS is finished flying for the Air Force. 

The final E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft left Moody Air Force Base, Ga., on Nov. 15, a spokesperson for the 116th Air Control Wing confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine. 

The airframe first entered USAF service in 1991, rushed into duty while still in development, to assist in Operation Desert Storm. Over the next 32 years, the fleet conducted some 14,000 operational sorties, racking up more than 141,000 flying hours in support of every geographic combatant command. 

JSTARS played a key role during the Global War on Terror and flew missions over Eastern Europe in the run-up and immediate aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

Air Force leaders had been planning to retire the planes for years, announcing in June 2021 their intent to cut the aircraft from Robins, which had hosted the E-8s since 1996. Facing modern integrated air defenses, the Air Force needed a more survivable means to do the moving target indicator and battle management jobs JSTARS did. One official said in 2022 that operating JSTARS in contested airspace was untenable, saying, “They’d be gone in a minute.”  

The first E-8 departed Robins in February 2022. A month later, the service announced its intent to divest 12 of 16 aircraft in fiscal 2023 and 2024, and Congress expedited the move by repealing a previous law requiring the Air Force to maintain at least six E-8s. In March, the Air Force budget request revealed a plan to accelerate the divestment plan, with the entire fleet retiring in fiscal 2024, which started Oct. 1. 

The E-8’s final operational sortie took place from Ramstein Air Base, Germany, on Sept. 21. Robins hosted a private farewell ceremony for alumni of the JSTARS program on Nov. 4, with more than 800 people in attendance. 

According to a 116th ACW release, the final JSTARS aircraft to leave Robins flew to Kelly Field, Texas, “where it will serve as a training aircraft for future Airmen.” Other JSTARS planes have gone to the Boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., but one remained in Georgia to become a static display at the Museum of Aviation.

In place of its JSTARS unit, Robins is getting a Battle Management Control squadron, an E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN) squadron, a Spectrum Warfare group, and support units focused on the service’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). The first E-11 arrived in April.

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One official said in 2022 that operating JSTARS in contested airspace was untenable, saying, “They’d be gone in a minute.” ㄷㄷㄷ

[위종민]

향후 contested area에서 지원기들이 생존성을 갖추려면 스텔스는 기본인 시대인 것 같습니다