Joint STARS completes first flight with new engines
Northrop Grumman’s E 8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) T-3 testbed aircraft has completed its first flight equipped with new, upgraded Pratt and Whitney production-configured engines featuring a newly designed pneumatic system.
The flight comes after three years of design, production and testing according to the company. The newly designed pneumatic system, designed by Northrop Grumman, uses a single stage pre-cooling design that vastly improves reliability and the hardware's life cycle.
The new pre-cooler allows hot, compressed air from the engines turbines to be processed at a substantially cooler temperature and more consistent pressure level than its predecessor. This improves the efficiency of the Air Cycle Machines which cools the aircraft's environmental control system, cabin, and Prime Mission Equipment, as well as pressurises the utility hydraulic subsystem, engine starting capability and liquid cooling system.
According to the company, the new engines are an upgrade from the existing commercial engines used on the E 8C, allowing for an increased mission capable rate and lowered ownership costs. The re-engining of the fleet has the potential to provide the Joint STARS system with significant operational and maintenance improvements.
More from Digital Battlespace
-
DSEI 2025: MARSS unveils new agnostic multidomain C4 system
MARSS’ NiDAR system has been deployed using sensors from static platforms to provide detection and protection for static sights, such as critical infrastructure, ports and military bases.
-
Australia looks towards space with force restructure, investment and training
Australia is looking to improve its presence in space with a focus on communications and creating a dedicated segment of its defence forces committed to the domain.
-
EID to unveil new vehicle communication system at DSEI
The Portuguese company’s naval communications system is in service across more than a dozen countries. It has turned to its home nation for support in developing a new vehicle based C2 system.
-
Chess Dynamics successfully demonstrates Vision4ce AI-driven tracker
The Vision4ce Deep Embedded Feature Tracking (DEFT) technology software is designed to process video and images by blending traditional computer vision with artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to present actionable information from complex environments.
-
Wave Relay devices cleared for security use on commercial systems in industry trend
Persistent Systems has been cleared by National Security Agency (NSA) to transmit sensitive data on commercial networks. The devices are added to the NSA’s Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) component list which also includes other companies’ products providing the same security.
-
UK teases cyber spending boost in Strategic Defence Review ahead of “imminent” release
The release of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) has been long promised as mid-year. It is possible it could be as early as 2 June although the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) continues to play its cards close to its chest.