EP-3E Letter

Inside the Pentagon reported last month on a Defense Department letter to Congress about funding for the EP-3E Airborne Reconnaissance Integrated Electronic System II and Special Projects Aircraft platform:

A March 12 letter sent to the Senate by James Winnefeld, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Michael Vickers, under secretary of defense for intelligence, states that budget factors also affect vital technology development of new and updated sensors to support MQ-4C and P-8 QRC capabilities, which are "key to [the] Navy's plan for meeting the intent of the FY-11 [Defense Authorization Act]."

Even with the budgeting issues, the Navy is still maintaining and sustaining the EP-3E, according to the letter.

The letter notes that despite provided capabilities through a "family of systems," the Navy projects a reduced capacity for the spy planes from fiscal year 2016 through FY-20 as "a result of the planned transition from the legacy capability to new systems." The family of systems refers to six manned and unmanned aircraft platforms designated to serve as replacements for the EP-3 in 2012.

We can now share that letter. Click here to read it.