WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Robins Air Force Base's JSTARS unit is headed for retirement.
But Air Force officials say it will be replaced by new high-tech units aimed at fighting new 21st Century problems.
Plans to phase out JSTARS are included in President Biden's defense budget, which was released Friday.
In a video news conference Friday, John P. Roth, Acting Secretary of the Air Force, said 2,000 Robins airmen now connected to JSTARS will shift into four new missions at the base.
Congressman Austin Scott said the changes will help the U.S. respond to new threats in the air from Russia and China.
"They're smaller they're faster and they're more powerful. We have to pick them up earlier," he said.
New missions are coming to Robins as part of the Advanced Battlefield Management System -- a combination of satellite and space-based technology that will connect ground troops, aircraft and command units.
Robins will be the headquarters for ABMS, said U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock.
So far, federal officials have not described the net impact on jobs at Robins.
But they said ABMS will bring new higher-paying jobs.