Leidos and L3Harris partner on US Army ISR aircraft for ATHENA-S
L3Harris currently operates a Bombardier Global series jet as part of the US Army’s ARES programme. (Photo: L3Harris)
Leidos and L3Harris Technologies announced on 26 July they are teaming up for the US Army’s Theater Level High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne – Signals Intelligence (ATHENA-S) proposal.
The companies will seek to deliver two ISR aircraft in support of the programme.
The team will work to modify two Bombardier Global 6500 jets with radar, electronic and communications intelligence capabilities tailored to ATHENA-S requirements, the partners said.
The aircraft are intended to support US Army missions in the US European Command area of responsibility and are designed to close the gap between the army’s medium- and high-altitude ISR aircraft fleet.
Related Articles
Sweden orders two GlobalEye AEW&C aircraft
Leidos Australia to acquire Cobham’s Special Mission aircraft unit
L3Harris, Amazon team up to advance battlespace networking
ATHENA-S will fly at higher operating altitudes, provide increased range, greater endurance, more capacity for larger payloads and greater standoff ranges, along with next-generation sensor technology.
Leidos currently operates two Leidos Special Mission Aircraft (LSMA) for the US Army’s Airborne Reconnaissance Targeting and Exploitation Multi-Mission Intelligence System (ARTEMIS) programme in support of EUCOM.
The LSMA provides deep-sensing ELINT to enable threat analysis and delivery of long-range precision fires.
L3Harris currently operates a Bombardier Global series jet as part of the army’s Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System (ARES) programme, supporting US Indo-Pacific Command.
In addition to ARES, L3Harris is also working on Phase 2 of the US Army’s Multi-Domain Sensing System programme to develop, build, integrate and demonstrate prototype electronic and communications intelligence sensors for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) programme.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Air Warfare
-
![How do we detect and defeat enemy drones?]()
How do we detect and defeat enemy drones?
Learn about the portfolio of sensors and effectors for the complete counter-UAS mission at Raytheon, an RTX business.
-
![BAE Systems lauds counter-UAS drone progression with live fire trials]()
BAE Systems lauds counter-UAS drone progression with live fire trials
The US-based tests successfully demonstrated the first live trial of a precision guided missile from a modified TRV-150 drone which destroyed both aerial and ground targets.
-
![Kratos Defense makes European CCA push with Airbus partnership]()
Kratos Defense makes European CCA push with Airbus partnership
Kratos’ XQ-58A Valkyrie will be equipped with an Airbus-made mission system to be offered as a ‘European’ collaborative combat aircraft option to the German Air Force.
-
![Anduril’s Barracuda-100M completes latest successful test flights]()
Anduril’s Barracuda-100M completes latest successful test flights
The munitions variant of the Barrauda-100 autonomous air vehicle is being tested for the US Army’s High-Speed Manoeuvrable Missile (HSMM) testbed programme, with further flight tests expected in 2026.
