The U.S. Army contracted Bombardier to supply one Global 6500 aircraft (with an option for two more) for its next-generation spy plane HADES program.
The U.S. Army Contracting Command, in coordination with the Army Fixed Wing Project Office, awarded a firm-fixed-price contract to Bombardier Defense (Learjet, Inc.) on Dec. 12, 2023, for the procurement of one Global 6500 jet aircraft with options to purchase two additional aircraft over a three-year period. These aircraft will support prototyping efforts for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, also known as HADES.
These HADES prototypes will be the first U.S. Army-owned large-cabin business jets used for Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance platforms, and will provide advanced deep-sensing capabilities for use in multi-domain operations against peer and near-peer adversaries. The delivery date for the first aircraft is October 1, 2024.
“HADES will bring the Army increased range, speed, endurance and aerial ISR depth,” said Col. Joe S. Minor, project manager for Army fixed-wing aircraft. “HADES will operate at higher altitudes than legacy turboprop platforms. Higher altitudes equate to an ability to sense farther and more persistently into areas of interest. Deep sensing is the Army’s number-one operational imperative for the Army of 2030.”
In preparation for the HADES program, the US Army began contracting airborne ISR services from Defense Industry suppliers as early as 2020 to obtain first-hand data on platform performance, sensor integration, sensor performance, and data distribution to both the Army and the joint force.
That information provided a better understanding of the doctrine, training, personnel, facilities and maintenance required to employ these sensors and aircraft, experience that will shape the experimental spy plane program, and its future implementation over the battlefield.
