U.S. Air Force delays competition for ground surveillance planes

The U.S. Air Force's fiscal 2016 budget released on Monday delayed a long-awaited competition for a new air-ground surveillance aircraft to replace the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS).

The budget plan said it had restructured the program's acquisition strategy to allow more time for technologydevelopment and reduce risk, which delayed the target date for initial combat use by one year to fiscal 2023.

The JSTARS program has been delayed repeatedly, although potential bidders had been heartened by statements from Air Force officials in recent months, as they began to talk about the program as a key priority.

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