The Air Force plans to replace the capability that it would have put on the now-canceled E-10 sensor and battle management airplane by upgrading the E-8 Joint STARS, according to Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, military deputy to the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition. The service’s 18 E-8s will all get new radars and new engines, but not the CFM-56s that are on KC-135Rs. The big-bypass turbofans were too bulky and would have interfered with the radar, Hoffman told Air Force Magazine Friday. The insides of the E-8s will feature new workstations, too.
The Air Force on Jan. 6 released nearly a dozen photos of F-22 and F-35 fighters returning to Puerto Rico after supporting the raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—the first official images of forces who participated in Operation Absolute Resolve.
