HADES Contract for Sierra Nevada Co
With reference to the Scramble Magazine news item of 3 September 2023, we can now report that the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been selected as winner of the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) programme.
The aim of this programme is to find a replacement for the legacy, turbo-prop airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission aircraft. In other words, aircraft like the RC-12X, MC-12S and EO-5C.
The goal was to select a platform with longer endurance, higher speed and which could reach higher altitudes. Both SNC and a joint venture of MAG Aerospace plus L3Harris were awarded a contract to convert two Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft each as prototypes. These contracts were under the so-called Army Theatre Level, High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne (ATHENA) programme. The SNC contract is dedicated to the signals part of the programme (ATHENA-S) and MAG Aerospace/L3Harris to the radar part (ATHENA-R). In a press statement, SNC Vice President Josh Walsh stated that the intention is to reuse about 90 percent of the ATHENA-S engineering package under the HADES offering.
The initial HADES contract, which now has been awarded, is for USD 93,5 million. The total cost of the overall contract is not to exceed USD 991,3 million over a period of twelve years. The signed part also covers the purchase of a single Global 6500 as HADES prototype, with an option for two more aircraft over a three-year period.
Eventually, the US Army wants to purchase in total fourteen aircraft. In a previous statement, the US Army indicated to expect the first aircraft to be operational around 12 to 18 months after the contract was signed. At the same time, the US Army also stated to be looking for a future fleet of manned and unmanned aircraft for the ISR task to benefit from the values and strongpoints of both systems. This seems to be in contrast to the strategy taken by other US military services which are aiming for unmanned aircraft only to perform this mission.
Credit photo: @SR_Planespotter