The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS is a United States Air Force surveillance and battle aircraft. The STARS stands for, Surveillance Target Attack Radar System. The E-8 Joint STARS was manufactured by Northrop Grumman and first introduced in 1991. However, the aircraft was not initial operating until December of 1997. There has been a total of 16 E-8 Joint STARS manufactured. The total unit cost of one E-8 Joint STARS is roughly, $244.4 million dollars (in 1998). Furthermore, the aircraft has a wingspan of 44.4 meters (145 feet and 9 inches) and a length of 46.6 meters (152 feet and 11 inches). Meanwhile, the aircraft stands 13 meters (42 feet and 6 inches), and has a weight of 77,564 kilograms (171,000 pounds). Additionally, the aircraft has a maximum take of weight of 152,409 kilograms (336,000 pounds). The E-8 Joint STARS able to hold a fuel capacity of 70,306 kilograms (155,000 pounds).With that much fuel the aircraft is able to fly for roughly 9 hours and reach speeds of up to mach 0.65 (587mph or 510 knots). Moreover, the E-8 Joint STARS is propelled by four Pratt & Whitney TF33-102C that each produce 85.41kN of thrust (19,200 lbf). Next, there is an external 8 meter (27 foot) long array antenna under the aircraft’s fuselage. The antenna can cover 19,305 square milage of the ground and can detect enemies at 250 kilometers (820,000 feet). The antenna on the aircraft can also detect any other aircraft in the vicinity. Lastly, the E-8 Joint STARS is still active and used by the United States Air Force.
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