National Security

Air Force tries to quash plan to replace surveillance planes

By Travis J. Tritten
Published May 17, 2018 4:30pm ET
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Air Force tries to quash plan to replace surveillance planes
A number of E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft from the 116th Air Control Wing, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, evacuated to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, to escape the path of Hurricane Irma Sept. 9, 2017. Joint STARS aircraft are operated by Air Combat Command. | (U.S. Air Force)

A plan in the House to force the Air Force to spend $6.5 billion to replace a surveillance plane is shaping up to be a top issue for the service in the 2019 defense budget.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson on Thursday told Senate appropriators that the service abandoned the program because a new generation of Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, or JSTARS, could be easily shot down by Russia or Chinese air defenses.

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Air Force Appropriations Committee Armed Services Committee Defense Defense Spending Heather Wilson House Armed Services Committee