NATO officials from 16 countries traveled recently to Robins AFB, Ga., for the Alliance Ground Surveillance Conference to discuss NATO’s new ground surveillance program, expected to take some of the workload off USAF’s ever busy E-8 Joint STARS aircraft. While at Robins, the NATO reps attended briefings with the 116th Air Control Wing and toured one of the wing’s E-8 aircraft. The primary aim of the conference was to discuss the way forward for the new AGS system, which is set to come into service in 2012. “Our biggest goal is coming up with a clearly defined road map before the system is implemented,” said Col. Michael Hain, NATO representative from Germany.
Fiscal 2027 will be the “year of restoring our foundational readiness accounts,” Air Force Undersecretary Matthew Lohmeier promised Feb. 24, with billions of dollars going to spare parts, flying hours, facility maintenance, and more.
