The Army announced Wednesday that it will buy large-cabin business jets from Bombardier as part of a new intelligence-gathering program aimed at pairing the Army’s increasingly long-range missiles with more sophisticated targeting systems. did.
The deal includes a contract for one Global 6500 jet, plus an option to purchase two more over the next three years. The first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered on October 1 of this year, according to an Army press release. This is the first time the Army has purchased a large-cabin business jet, the jet category referring to long-range private planes more commonly used for luxury travel.
The acquisition will support ongoing work toward the development of the Army’s new airborne intelligence collection effort, the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES), according to a press release.
The Army began experimenting with the HADES platform in 2020, but purchased services rather than equipment so it could evaluate different vendors.
As part of the program, the Army investigated two planes named ARTEMIS and ARES. ARTEMIS packs intelligence-gathering equipment into his 1400 cubic foot Challenger 600, and ARES does the same thing, but using a Global 6500 jet.
The Global 6500 is newer than the Challenger 600 and has a longer range of 6,600 nautical miles, enough to deliver intelligence equipment from the continental United States to Europe and the Pacific Ocean.
The project’s name stands for Aerial Reconnaissance and Targeting Exploitation Multi-Mission Intelligence System (ARTEMIS) and Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System (ARES).
The Army currently operates aging turboprop aircraft for similar types of airborne intelligence gathering, including Cold War-era Guardrail aircraft. But such planes are no match for Chinese or Russian air defenses, Army Gen. Robert Ashley said in 2017.
Business jets can fly higher than turboprop planes, which means business jets have “the ability to sense areas of interest farther and more sustainably,” the Army said. Wing aircraft project manager Col. Joe Miner said in a press release.
The announcement comes as the Army looks to more advanced precision missiles to maintain its dominance in the Pacific. Such missiles require high-quality targeting data, which could be provided by HADES.
“Deep sensing is the Army’s top operational priority for the Army in 2030,” Miner said, referring to efforts to track adversaries over long distances.
Challenger 600s, flying under the Artemis program, have been patrolling the skies near Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.22
The plane has been flying along the borders of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia almost every day for the past three months from its base in Romania, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.
US intelligence sharing on Russian military headquarters reportedly helped Ukraine target and kill Russian generals. At least seven people were killed in the Ukrainian attack.