Unwrapping the U.S. Army's new spy jets (updated)
The U.S. Army is using contractor-owned, contractor-operated surveillance jets to test new technologies and operating concepts
This post has been updated to include recently published information about the ATHENA-R and ATHENA-S programs as well as the HADES platform . If you have already read the post, the new information can be found at the bottom of this post.
Regularly flying above NATO’s eastern border, the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese coastline are three modified business jets flying for the United States Army. The contractor-owned, contractor-operated jets are flying operational missions to test new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technologies and operating concepts. One of them, the ARTEMIS jet, recently returned to Eastern Europe after maintenance and upgrades in the United States, which prompted me to take a closer look at the aircraft and the programs it is part of.
Two modified Bombardier Challenger 650 jets are flying for the ARTEMIS program and a modified Bombardier Global 6500 is operating for the ARES program. While the three aircraft are flying for different programs, they test components of the same sensor suite: HADES. The U.S. Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) is a sensor suite part of the Multi-Domain Sensing System (MDSS) program and aims to ‘‘detect, locate, identify and track critical targets’’ for long-range targeting and surveillance, as well as creating an operational picture of the battlefield and establishing patterns of life. To help bridge the gap between the new platforms and the decommissioning of the old fleet of U.S. Army ISR aircraft, the service is using the three jets to test the HADES sensor suite and to determine ‘‘which airframes will work best for the mission requirements.’’
These mission requirements are a major shift from the current fleet of over sixty U.S. Army ISR aircraft, which mainly consists of modified Beechcraft King Air 350 and Dash-8 aircraft. While intensively used above Afghanistan, Iraq and throughout Africa, these relatively slow-, and low-flying turboprop aircraft ‘‘are remnants of the Cold War’’ and are primarily designed for counter-terrorism missions. These missions are generally flown in permissive air environments and are gathering data from relatively simple devices such as IEDs and radios. However, (near-)peer scenarios are aviation-contested and require data collection from more varied signals from more advanced systems.
The capabilities
This is why HADES will be installed on platforms that fly faster and significantly higher, have longer endurance and have a notably higher ISR capacity. The program primarily employs line-of-sight sensors, so the higher the aircraft can fly the further it can ‘see’ into contested territory. This is essential in the U.S. Army’s 2030 Force Structure, which details that the U.S. Army will need to ‘‘see more, farther, and more persistently at every echelon than our adversaries.” To accomplish this vision, the first contracts for the ARTEMIS and ARES technology demonstrators were awarded in 2019. The new focus on (near-)peer adversaries like Russia and China introduced new operating concepts and stimulated the U.S. Army to push for its own strategic ISR capabilities and decrease dependence on the U.S. Air Force for strategic airborne ISR missions. The combination of increased range and speed of the new platforms of the U.S. Army has several key benefits. It enables the U.S. Army to quickly deploy the ISR jets throughout the world. This capability was demonstrated when the first ARTEMIS jet was repositioned from Japan to Europe in 2020. The repositioning was ‘‘the first time that an Army asset ever moved from one major theater to a second major theater in less than 24 hours and resumed operations.’’ In contrast, repositioning a turboprop aircraft from the Pacific to the European theatre can take five to seven days. Another benefit of the increased range and speed was exemplified when a sensor component failed on the ARTEMIS jet. Because of the increased range and speed, ‘‘it was faster to fly the aircraft back to the U.S., fix it, test it and fly it back than to ship the part to Europe.’’ The increased speed and range also allow the U.S. Army to stage the jets further away from contested airspace, increasing their safety, and enabling the U.S. Army to conduct the global ISR mission with fewer airframes. The faster jets can be quickly repositioned over long distances, thus eliminating the need for a fleet of aircraft in disparate locations.
The ARTEMIS and ARES programs not only represent a new generation of surveillance and (near-)peer scenarios but also a new approach to buying (weapon) systems. The three HADES prototypes are all owned, operated and maintained by contractors with the aim to ease the logistics and financial burden on the U.S. Army. The contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) aircraft may be owned and operated by a contractor, but the U.S. Army is able to operate the sensors from inside the jets or remotely access and exploit the data from the onboard sensors in real time. The U.S. Army essentially pays the contractors a by-the-hour fee for the flights and maintenance.
These sensors of the HADES system are ever-evolving but are presently focused on three types of intelligence: ELINT, COMINT and radar. The electronic intelligence (ELINT) sensors gather electronic signals that are emitted from adversary systems such as radars, command and control systems, air defence systems, etc. The capabilities of the ELINT sensors can be divided into two subsections. First, technical ELINT (TECHELINT) gathers specific data to exploit the signal structure, emission characteristics, modes of operation, and emitter functions. The primary purpose is to obtain parameters that can define the capabilities and the function of the emitter in the larger system. For example, the signal parameters can define the capabilities and role of an air defence radar which can then lead to the design of detection, countermeasure and/or weapon systems. The other subsection, operational ELINT (OPELINT), concentrates on probing, intercepting and locating specific ELINT targets to determine their operational patterns. The gathered data is then used to exploit the targets and create a real-time Electronic Order of Battle (EOB). The EOB provides decision-makers with a comprehensive understanding of the capabilities, locations and patterns of adversary systems to determine the most effective countermeasures and/or strategies.
The second focus of the current HADES system is communications intelligence (COMINT), which is relatively simple compared to ELINT. Similar to electronic intelligence, COMINT intercepts and exploits signals from communication between people. However, in contrast to ELINT, communication intelligence refers to only signals that contain speech or text, such as radio communications, telephone conversations and text messages.
The third focus of the HADES sensor suite, radar, is not installed on the ARTEMIS and ARES jets. Radar is an acronym for RAdio Assisted Detection and Ranging and uses radio waves to determine the distance, angle, and/or velocity of objects. It is generally used to detect weather formations and terrain, but the more sensitive synthetic aperture radar (SAR) systems are used to accurately detect aircraft, ships, vehicles and other structures on the ground. The SAR system of the HADES suite also has a moving target indication (MTI) capability which discriminates moving targets, such as aircraft and vehicles, against a static background. Unfortunately, the testing platform for the radar sensor suite is not publicly specified and official details remain classified. Feel free to contact me (details on the About page) if you have more information about the testing platform(s)!
The ARTEMIS jets
Development of the first ARTEMIS jet (N488CR) started in 2019 by Leidos, the main contractor, in collaboration with G-2 ISR Task Force, PEO Aviation and PEO IEW&S. Fourteen months after Leidos began work on the ‘Leidos Special Mission Aircraft’ (the company’s designation for the modified Challenger 650 jets), the first ARTEMIS jet flew to Japan on July 29, 2020. After testing and evaluating the jet’s capabilities in the Pacific theatre, ARTEMIS was deployed to Romania on September 16, 2020. Excluding maintenance cycles and exercises in the United States, the jet has stayed in Europe to monitor Russian activities along NATO’s eastern border. The first ARTEMIS jet has received four publically known upgrades, including two in the continental United States. The ARTEMIS II jet (N159L), which is mostly identical to the first ARTEMIS jet, was unveiled to the public in December 2022. A month later and only five months after contract signing, it was delivered to the U.S. Army for its deployment to Lithuania.
The interior of the two ARTEMIS jets is modular and can be rolled on and off within hours for maintenance, upgrades, or reconfiguration for MEDEVAC or transport missions. Each ARTEMIS jet has a common power system and a rack-mounted architecture that can support up to six equipment stations. Building upon this flexibility, Leidos has developed a customised mission manager tool to rapidly reprogram the sensor system with new signal processing capabilities. The sensor equipment inside the five segments of the belly fairing is an entirely open architecture, meaning that government or sensors developed by other companies can be installed on the aircraft without major modifications. The two ARTEMIS jets are currently equipped, among other systems, with the SS-4000 ELINT payload developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC). The sensor system has improved accuracy, can ‘see’ farther compared to older sensors installed on U.S. Army aircraft, and is capable of detecting and classifying new signals of interest. Because of its significantly increased instantaneous bandwidth, the SS-4000 system scans the environment at a much higher rate which results in an increased probability to detect and intercept signals of interest. For aircraft protection, the ARTEMIS jets are equipped with the AN/AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System, Radar Warning Receivers and electro-optical missile sensors. The first ARTEMIS jet (N488CR) has recently received a new SATCOM fairing during a maintenance and upgrades cycle in the United States.
Technical details
Name: Aerial Reconnaissance and Targeting Exploitation Multi-Mission Intelligence System
Airframe: Bombardier Challenger 650
Registration(s): N448CR & N159L
Endurance: 10+ hours
Max. altitude: 41,000 ft (12.5 km)
Payload: 5,000 lbs (2,268 kg)
Operational availability: 92%
The ARES jet
While ARTEMIS gets significantly more attention from the media, Leidos’ ARTEMIS is not the only contractor flying for the U.S. Army. Initially completing a series of test flights and upgrades at the L3Harris Mission Integration Division at Makors Airport in Texas, L3Harris’ ARES jet deployed to Kadena Air Base in southern Japan, on April 18, 2022. After five months of supporting ‘‘real-time intelligence collection and processing, exploitation and dissemination (PED) operations’’ in the U.S. Army Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility, the jet returned to the United States for upgrades and tests. During this time period, the Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System (ARES) jet was also used in exercises that evaluated new operating concepts of the U.S. Army. The ARES platform returned to Japan in December 2022, where it is deployed for operational missions to monitor China, North Korea and maritime activities. In contrast to the ARTEMIS jets, which are equipped with a limited number of components of the HADES SIGINT sensor suite, the larger ARES jet is believed to be equipped with a more complete sensor suite and is ‘‘closer to the HADES project’s long-term goals.’’
The ARES platform is a modified Bombardier Global 6500 operating in support of the U.S. Army Pacific Command. The ARES jet has three key benefits compared to the smaller ARTEMIS jet: increased payload weight, a higher operational altitude, and longer endurance. First, the ARES jet houses a larger sensor payload. ARES’ sensor suite is developed by L3Harris and compromises operationally proven SIGINT sensors. Publically available photos suggest the sensor suite compromises of, among various other sensors, L3Harris’ BlackRock COMINT system, the EAN200 antenna array and the EPR417 digital processing assembly. The second benefit of the Global 6500 platform is its higher operational altitude, which increases the line-of-sight and thus the area that can be surveyed on a single flight. The longer endurance of the jet increases time on station, allows the military to stage the jets further away from contested airspace, and achieves the global mission with fewer airframes because of significantly shorter transit times.
Technical details
Name: Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic warfare System
Airframe: Bombardier Global 6500
Registration(s): N799JR
Endurance: 14 hours
Max. altitude: 40,000+ ft (12 km)
Payload: 14,330 lbs (6,500 kg)
Operational availability: 95%
The aircraft in development
The increased payload size, higher operational altitude and longer endurance of the new ISR jets seem to have driven the U.S. Army to select the Global 6000/6500 platform for the upcoming ATHENA-R and ATHENA-S programs. ATHENA-R is the next step after the ARES and ARTEMIS platforms and will be equipped with a SIGINT suite, electro-optical sensors and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with ground moving-target indication (GMTI) and dismount indication capabilities. The Army Theater-level High-altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ATHENA) program is divided into two separate platforms. ATHENA-R will house a DoD-provided radar system and a SIGINT suite. The second platform, ATHENA-S, will be equipped with the complete and (near-)final configuration of the HADES sensor suite. Earlier this year, the U.S. Army awarded a five-year contract for the ATHENA-R program to the joint MAG Aerospace-L3Harris team, rejecting the proposed platforms developed by Leidos and Sierra Nevada Corporation. Their platforms are now proposed for other, including foreign, programs. In July 2023, L3Harris and Leidos, the two main contractors for the ARTEMIS and ARES programs, announced that the two companies will work together to deliver two Global 6500 jets for the ATHENA-S program. The two jets will be equipped with ‘‘radar, electronic and communications intelligence capabilities tailored to ATHENA-S requirements’’ and are planned to ‘‘support U.S. Army missions in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.’’
While ATHENA is designed to be the last major program before the final HADES platform is selected, budget cuts in the years ahead might push ATHENA to become a long-term solution. The U.S. Army has not yet decided on the final platform and whether all the sensor suites will be integrated into a single airframe. Official presentation slides of the U.S. military used business jets, unmanned aircraft and airline-sized platforms like the P-8 Poseidon to depict HADES. U.S. Army officials have also stated that the service is looking into air-launched effects (ALEs) for the final HADES platform to increase survivability and the range of sensor systems. ALEs are air-launched unmanned aircraft systems equipped with, in this case, decoys, jammers and/or sensors. The manned aircraft would act as a mothership outside contested airspace while the ALEs operate in contested airspace.
Whatever platform and configuration will be selected, HADES will not work alone. The MDSS program envisions HADES working together with low-altitude effects, such as UAVs and medium-altitude unmanned aircraft, and the HELIOS high-altitude, long-endurance ISR platform, which sensor suite is planned to be similar to HADES’ sensor suite. The High-Altitude Extended-Range Long-Endurance Intelligence Observation System (HELIOS) system will likely be installed on a high-altitude balloon that will operate at an altitude of around twenty kilometres (60,000 ft).
New details
In October 2023, it was announced that the U.S. Army awarded the ATHENA-S contract to Sierra Nevada Corporation in September. The company’s two Rapcon-X special mission aircraft will be further modified to meet the ATHENA-S requirements in the coming months and will begin flying operational missions in ‘‘about a year.’’ However, this timeline might be impacted by government delays and a potential contract protest from the Leidos-L3Harris team, the losing bidder.
The two ATHENA-S jets will be equipped with Leonardo’s Osprey 50 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars inside the canoe fairing underneath the jet. The AESA radars have, among other capabilities, high-resolution, wide swath ground mapping as well as ground moving target indication (GMTI) and ranging capabilities. The brochure of the predecessor of the Osprey 50 AESA radars states that the system also has maritime and aerial target indication capabilities but it is unclear whether ATHENA-S will have those capabilities as well. The SIGINT suite will be provided by the government which selected L3Harris to ‘‘develop, build, integrate and demonstrate prototype electronic and communications intelligence sensors.’’
On October 9, the first team announced their bid for the final HADES platform. L3Harris, MAG Aerospace and Leidos teamed up for the U.S. Army’s HADES platform, aiming to ‘‘deliver a fleet of aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to rapidly collect relevant and reliable operational intelligence against the nation’s most advanced adversaries.’’ In addition to decades of experience with modifying special mission aircraft, the three companies already have contracts for the ARTEMIS, ARES and ATHENA-R programs. L3Harris was also tasked to develop and deliver the electronic, - and communications intelligence sensors for the two ATHENA-S jets.
The announcement of the L3Harris-led team also included a new render of their HADES concept, which is (I think) the first concept art for the final HADES platform. Visible is the large canoe fairing underneath the fuselage, which will likely house the radars. In addition, more antennas underneath the nose, fuselage and wings are visible. These are likely part of the SIGINT sensor suite. On each side of the fuselage is a fairing, which likely houses additional and possibly passive SIGINT sensors. On top of the fuselage is a fairing for likely a satellite communications system. While the final configuration will likely change, this render gives a good impression of how the HADES jets will look like.
Conclusion
The two ARTEMIS jets and the ARES platform fly near daily missions to monitor Russia, China and North Korea with new technologies and operating concepts. The contractor-owned, contractor-operated jets have a higher operation altitude, increasing the area that can be surveyed in a single flight. Additionally, the increased speed and endurance introduce new operating concepts in which the U.S. Army is able to quickly reposition the jets, base them further from contested airspace and complete the global ISR mission with fewer airframes. The three jets are equipped with components of the HADES sensor suite which will collect data from both SIGINT and radar. The complete sensor suite will thus combine (some of) the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force’s E-8C Joint STARS and RC-135V/W Rivet Joint. The ARTEMIS and ARES programs will be succeeded by the ATHENA-R and later the ATHENA-S programs, both of which will be based on modified Global 6000/6500 business jets. Presently, the U.S. Army is looking at business jets, airline-sized platforms like the P-8 Poseidon, and unmanned systems for the final HADES platform. However, no (public) decisions have been made and budget cuts might force the U.S. Army to use the ATHENA jets as the long-term solution.
Before ATHENA will become operational in the next few years and the final HADES platform in the 2030s, more business jets will be modified into ISR aircraft. One of the many examples is SNC’s two RAPCON-X jets. Initially intended for the ATHENA-R program, the jets are now used as a bid for Finland’s border surveillance jet. More and more business jets are being transformed into ISR aircraft for militaries around the globe and this trend is expected to continue for at least the next decade. While not the first of its kind, the ARTEMIS and ARES jets are prime examples of the U.S. military’s shift towards (near-)peer scenarios. The testbed bizjets are flying operational missions to test new technologies and operating concepts that will be essential in the increasing military competition with (near-)peer adversaries and will only become more capable and relevant in the coming years.
Thank you
Thank you for reading this post! As always, feel free to reach out with your thoughts, questions and/or suggestions for future posts.
I saw pictures of N799JR in Japan but the registration wasn’t discernible, I honestly thought it was the elusive N800PM at first. Great article!
Well written article !