It’s no surprise that the Air Force gave up the E-10 multi-sensor command and control aircraft for budgetary reasons. And, when questioned about the decision by Sen. Joe Lieberman (Ind.-Conn.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services air-land panel, Air Staff operations and requirements boss, Lt. Gen. Howie Chandler baldly stated, “In a perfect world, with the right amount of money, from an operational perspective, we love the technology.” The service would like to put a key part of that technology—the multi-platform radar insertion program sensor—on the current E-8 Joint STARS ground radar aircraft, noted Lt. Gen. Donald Hoffman, USAF’s military deputy acquisition chief, and added, “If we could afford that.” However, he acknowledged that there simply is no money to do so. USAF is using 2007 dollars to extend the work on MP-RTIP “to go as far as we can,” said Hoffman. The service is pursuing a reduced MP-RTIP technology for the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle. Hoffman also told Air Force Magazine last week that it will be upgrading some sensors on its E-8 fleet.
Competitors Not Picked for CCA Look Forward to Increment 2
April 25, 2024
While none of the major aircraft contractors were selected to develop the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, all three say they are seeking further autonomous aircraft work for the Navy, foreign partners, or in the classified arena, and maybe future versions of the CCA itself.