The E-8C Joint STARS aircraft features a 29ft (8.8m) long radome under the forward fuselage to house the AN/APY-7 l-band, side-looking phased array radar.

Unmistakeable smoke generated by Pratt & Whitney JT3D (military designation TF33-102C) engines - the power plant of the E-8C Joint STARS.

US Air Force E-8C serial number 96-0042 on a transit stop at RAF Leuchars, Fife, in September 2008.

Prior to take-off from RAF Mildenhall on May 29, 2005 is E-8C serial number 97-0201 (c/n 20319), with the official shields from (left to right) of the Air National Guard, 116th Air Control Wing and Air Combat Command. The photo shows how close the radome is to the runway surface.

The second production-series Joint STARS aircraft, E-8C serial number 92-3290 (c/n 19295), at RAF Mildenhall in mid-May 2012. It was delivered to the US Air Force in December 1996.

E-8A Joint STARS prototype N770JS (c/n 19626, serial number 86-0416) at RAF Mildenhall, UK on a transit stop from Riyadh after service in Operation Desert Storm in late February 1991. N770JS was one of three development aircraft used by Northrop-Grumman.

Tail markings of Georgia Air National Guard’s 116th Air Control Wing feature a ‘GA’ tail code and a black fin flash, outlined in red, containing the state name in gold.

An air weapons officer, tracks suspected movements on radar during a mission over Iraq on September 1, 2008. The flight marked 40,0 combat hours supporting the Global War on Terror by the 116th Air Control Wing.