Northrop Grumman was awarded a $5.8 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to conduct a risk reduction study contract for the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (Joint STARS) Radar Modernization program. The study will be performed under Northrop Grumman’s existing Multi-Platform Radar Technology Insertion Radar (MP-RTIP) program. Northrop Grumman said the study will look at risk reduction efforts involved in adapting the wide-area surveillance version of the MP-RTIP sensor, originally planned for the E-10A aircraft, for Joint STARS. "A large, advanced, wide-area surveillance version of the MP-RTIP sensor integrated on Joint STARS will provide an exponential growth in information fidelity to our joint warfighters. It will also bring vastly improved situational awareness for tracking ground movement, cruise missiles and support for irregular warfare and other emerging threats,"said Tom Vice, sector vice president of Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems’ Eastern Region. Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the Joint STARS program and responsible for full system life cycle support. Work on the study will be done at Northrop Grumman facilities in Norwalk, Conn., Melbourne, Fla. and El Segundo, Calif. and Raytheon’s Space and Airborne Systems business unit.