US Army gets first Global 6500 aircraft for HADES programme

Bombardier Defense has confirmed the delivery of the first Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft to the US Army. It will be used in support of its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) programme.

The company said this first prototype platform would strengthen the US Army’s aerial deep sensing abilities and was a milestone towards the Army’s goal of updating its ISR fleet.

Bombardier said the Global 6500 had a maximum endurance of up to 18 hours and up to 750 hours between maintenance intervals.

Andrew Evans, director – HQDA G-2 ISR Task Force, said: “HADES is the centrepiece of the Army’s collection strategy and the Global 6500 is the system that brings that strategy to life. This aircraft gives us the range, payload capacity, speed and endurance to deliver timely, relevant and responsive capabilities for the full spectrum of Army and Joint collection requirements.”

The US Army awarded the contract for the first Global 6500 to Bombardier in December 2023, with options for two more contracts over three years.

The Sierra Nevada Corporation won the contract as the lead system integrator for the HADES programme in August 2024 in a 12-year programme reportedly worth up to US$994.3 million. That programme would incorporate deep sensing technologies on the Bombardier Global 6500 jet as part of its transformation into an ISR platform.

At the time, Col. Joe S. Minor, project manager for US Army fixed-wing aircraft, said that deep sensing was “the Army’s number one operational imperative for the Army of 2030”.

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