Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, collects imagery, and relays tactical pictures to ground and air theater commanders. The aircraft was operated by both active duty USAF and Air National Guard units and also carried specially trained U.S. Army personnel as additional flight crew until its retirement in 2023.
Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS
Northrop Grumman E-8A Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System. The radome for the side-looking radar is visible under the forward fuselage.
Pave Mover Radar, the prototype for the JSTARS radar
Crew members uploading software onto an E-8 during preparations for a flight
Battle command (BC) is the discipline of visualizing, describing, directing, and leading forces in operations against a hostile, thinking, and adaptive enemy. Battle command applies leadership to translate decision into actions, by synchronizing forces and warfighting functions in time, space, and purpose, to accomplish missions. Battle command refers both to processes triggered by commanders and executed by soldiers and to the system of systems (SoS) that directly enables those processes.
BC FBCB2 component in a Humvee