E-8A Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS)

The E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) is a United States Air Force airborne battle management and command and control (C2) platform that conducts ground surveillance to develop an understanding of the enemy situation and to support attack operations and targeting that contributes to the delay, disruption and destruction of enemy forces. These functions support the primary mission of Joint STARS - to provide dedicated support of ground and air theater commanders.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• JSTARS
• Joint
• Surveillance
• Target
• Attack
• Radar
• System
• E-8A
• 116th
• Air
• Control
• Wing
• USAF

[2012GST]

Its a dot...lets blow it up . Sigh

[ALB437]

@ALB437 - Rooftop: better known under Radar Shadow.

[ALB437]

@franknbeans4761 - Concerning the satellites communications it seems to be so perfect that I do have my doubts about a 100% secrecy. I always thought that they might be decoded in some way by who knows who,maybe several others. I also got that impression going through P.Crickmore's F-117 Nighthawk shotdown over the Balkans. The route seemed to be more or less known, but maybe a complement of infos was involved?

[ALB437]

@franknbeans4761 - Thanks. I'm going to read my first book about the E-8s and I follow a bit the X-47B, Heron, Global Hawk, Predator Reaper, Shadow, MQ-1C Sky Warrior, Hermes 900, MQ-9 Reaper, Phantom Ray and the fast growing list. My feeling is that the key point is to have a perfect guidance system in order to avoid them to get shot down, as it happened a few days ago in Iran and seems regularly be the case. I would personnaly leave the "classic" guidance system.

[franknbeans4761]

@ALB437 In mountainous terrain like the Alps, then the Joint STARS would be slightly less effective. But, that is why the US is making so many UAV's. They would have higher survivability in the mountains by hiding in them. For good intelligence you need a force of satellites, E-8's, and UAV's.

[ALB437]

Thanks. I am surprised. I thought I would none of a problem for the radar section to capture them. In addition I was thinking of the heat produced by the different vehicles, which could also have been a way to get discovered. How would a Joint Surveillance system work in the European Alps with convoys crossing valleys surroundet by 8000-9000ft mountains?

[franknbeans4761]

@ALB437 Well, they might be able to mask small units like that, but only if there are many other units in the surrounding area so that it can "hide" there. But otherwise it would only temporarily hide it.

[ALB437]

@franknbeans4761 - Thanks. If we now spoke, for example, about a small convoy of missile launchers (10-20vehicles), how would if affect the radars, thermal imaging, night vision & others optics if every vehicle had a mountable rooftop able to hide any movement, slightly larger than the vehicle itself and in addition with a changeable camouflage, according to the route followed? I leave out on purpose the UAV's with their lower flights just to have a surrounding idea.

[franknbeans4761]

@ALB437 Well, the E-8 uses radars, thermal imaging, night vision, & other optics to find targets. If they suspect a convoy, they use various means of spotting them. And now they also use smaller UAV's for this purpose & the fleet of E-8's has been "buffed up" by Global Hawks, Predators, Grey Eagles, & Reaper UAV's. A great intelligence gathering force.

[ALB437]

@franknbeans4761 - Thanks. The movements of the convoys underlined by pictures of such a high quality is of course the perfection. I think I had not seen the part of the pictures. The only way for the enemy would be to find out a way to interfere any means of radar capture and picturing, possibly both at the same time and mounted on vehicles of the convoy?