Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS

The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, known as Joint STARS, was a United States Air Force airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracked ground vehicles and some aircraft, collected imagery and relayed tactical pictures to ground and air theater commanders, and it was flown by active duty and Air National Guard units with specially trained Army personnel as additional crew. The E-8C is a Boeing 707-300 airliner modified with a canoe-shaped radome under the forward fuselage that carries the radar, along with communications and operations subsystems. The concept and sensor technology were developed and tested on the Tacit Blue experimental aircraft, and Grumman Aerospace won the prime contract in September 1985. The wing declared initial operational capability on 18 December 1997, and the aircraft retired in 2023.