Sierra Nevada Corporation wins HADES Contract
August 26, 2024
The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been selected as winner of the US Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) programme. SNC will now act as the lead systems integrator for the US Army’s future long-range Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission aircraft.
The HADES programme was intended to develop and deploy a replacement for the US Army’s legacy fleet of some 70 turbo-prop airborne ISR aircraft, including the RC-12X, MC-12S and EO-5C. The plan was to select a bizjet platform in order to produce an aircraft with longer endurance, higher speed and better high altitude performance.
The Army has undertaken a number of technology demonstration programmes, including Artemis (Airborne Reconnaissance and Target Exploitation Multi-mission System) based on a Bombardier Challenger 650 converted by Leidos, and ARES (Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System) which was produced by L3Harris based on a Bombardier Global Express 6500. Artemis and ARES had flown more than 1,000 ten-hour sorties by April 2024 and were averaging 20 sorties per month.
Under the Army Theatre Level, High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne (ATHENA) programme, SNC and a joint venture of MAG Aerospace plus L3Harris were each awarded contracts to convert two Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft as ATHENA-S SIGINT aircraft prototypes (SNC) and ATHENA-R radar reconnaissance aircraft (MAG Aerospace/L3Harris).
SNC Vice President Josh Walsh has said that the company’s HADES offering will be based on the company’s RAPCON-X configuration, and will reuse about 90% of its ATHENA-S engineering package.
The initial US $93.5 million HADES contract includes the purchase of a single Global 6500 to serve as the HADES prototype, with options on two further aircraft. The total programme is not to exceed US $994.3 million over a period of twelve years. The US Army reportedly hopes to purchase 14 aircraft in total. Conversion is expected to take about 18 months after which the aircraft will undergo a user assessment, moving the aircraft from a controlled test environment in the continental United States to operational theatres.
Lt General Anthony Hale, the deputy chief of staff for Army intelligence, said that: “HADES is the centrepiece of the Army’s long-promised aerial ISR transformation strategy. HADES allows the Army to fly higher, faster and farther, which directly impacts our ability to see and sense deeper, delivering an organic capability in line with the Secretary of the Army’s number-one operational imperative – deep sensing.”
