Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) led an effort last week to ensure Congress includes money to continue the re-engine program for USAF’s E-8C Joint STARS fleet, introducing a sense of the Senate amendment (SA 2621) during floor debate on the 2010 defense spending bill. The program reportedly has been eyed as the service considers how to meet competing budget needs. Chambliss called Joint STARS “one of the most effective [intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance] assets operating today” and included for the record a Sept. 30 acquisition decision memorandum, in which Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter directs USAF to proceed with the program. Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) said he and Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, both support the measure. (From Congressional Record)
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
