New mapping bizjet deploys to the Philippines (updated)
The modified Gulfstream V equipped with photogrammetry and/or LiDAR sensors appears to be the successor of another bizjet that flew mapping missions above Africa for the U.S. military
Amid rising tensions in the South China Sea region, a shadowy Gulfstream bizjet equipped with photogrammetry and/or LiDAR sensors deployed to Mactan–Cebu Airport and already flew several missions above Luzon. The region is of increasing strategic importance as China is stepping up its aggressive actions against Philippine coast guard vessels and incursions into Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). At the same time, the U.S. military and its allies are enhancing their military firepower in the South China Sea region, particularly around the Luzon Strait. This strategic region is exactly where the modified Gulfstream V bizjet of Tenax Aerospace has flown surface mapping missions since deploying there in September 2024.
Update: after a two-month deployment, the new mapping bizjet returned to the United States on November 6, 2024. Two weeks later on November 22, the modified Gulfstream V deployed to the Philippines again.
Photogrammetry is the art of collecting a high number of aerial images to create 3D representations of the surface. Similarly, LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is a technology that uses laser pulses to measure distances from an aircraft to the ground, creating accurate 3D representations of the surface by calculating the time it takes for the laser to bounce back after hitting the surface. These high-resolution 3D maps are typically used for construction planning and topographic analysis. For military purposes, the detailed surface maps can be used for selecting key sites for new bases or defence installations as well as mission planning, particularly for air defence systems and cruise missiles. While smaller (and increasingly uncrewed) aircraft are generally used for these mapping missions, bizjet-based platforms have longer endurance and higher flying speed, and can thus cover a larger area in a single flight. In volatile regions, the high(er) operational altitude increases the safety of the aircraft as it flies out of range of small-arms fire and many small air-defence systems.
For at least since 2017, a Gulfstream IV bizjet (N338MM) equipped with photogrammetry equipment has flown such missions above several countries in Africa. While initially flying survey patterns above the coastal and border regions of Libya, N338MM shifted its area of operations to the Sahel region in 2022 and 2023. Flying out of the part of Niamey’s airport exclusively used by U.S. and French military forces, the jet flew photogrammetry missions over primarily Burkina Faso, Niger and Benin. The region suffers from instability, with two military coups in Burkina Faso in 2022 and a growing strength of terrorist groups such as JNIM and the Islamic State. To combat this, especially in the Mali-Niger border region, the U.S. military operated several (drone) bases and U.S. Army Green Berets have been active on the ground in the region. American forces were also deployed to Burkina Faso at the time, officially as advisors to the local military. It was already foreseeable at the time that the sphere of influence and activities of the two largest terrorist groups would extend from Burkina Faso into Benin and Togo, where US special forces are now training local soldiers as well. To enable military operations in the difficult and often poorly mapped terrain of dense forests, endless wastelands and desert-like areas, high-resolution map data is required. The Gulfstream IV photogrammetry bizjet has undoubtedly collected such data during its deployments to central Africa and the Sahel region.
While the Gulfstream flew out of military bases, namely NAS Sigonella and the military side of Niamey airport in Niger, the bizjet is contractor-owned and operated by Tenax Aerospace. The company modifies and operates a wide range of special mission aircraft for, among others, U.S. government customers including defence and intelligence organisations. The company’s website states one of its missions is ‘‘using cutting-edge LiDAR and other (…) equipment to collect thermal, multi-spectral, hyper-spectral, and high-resolution images used in aerial mapping missions.’’ While the exact customer and/or program of either the old or new Gulfstream mapping bizjets is unknown, one of Tenax Aerospace’s public customers is the U.S. Army’s Geospatial Center. This organisation is tasked with geospatial data collection, analysis, visualisation and dissemination for the U.S. Army and other DoD branches. That said, the two bizjets could be flying for a wide range of other DoD or intelligence agencies as the specific customer is still not publicly known.
While the Gulfstream IV has been almost exclusively deployed to Africa (likely) in support of the U.S. military, Tenax Aerospace’s new Gulfstream V bizjet (N36GV) seems to have a new area of operations. After undergoing modifications in Saint Louis, the bizjet conducted a series of test flights in March 2024. Starting in May, the new mapping bizjet started a series of what appears to be calibration flights out of Manassas Regional Airport. The series of flights included survey patterns above various parts of the country and are likely a mix of calibration/testing, training, and some operational flights. On September 15, the Gulfstream V jet flew to Hawaii where it flew several survey flights for three days, after which it left for the Philippines. Since the start of this deployment, the bizjet has flown a handful of survey missions above the island groups in the strategic Luzon Strait and above Cebu in the central Philippines. As the specific sensor suite of the new Gulfstream V is unknown and the survey pattern covered mostly water instead of landmass, I suspect the jet might be equipped with LiDAR equipment (as well).
The Philippines, particularly the Luzon Strait, is of great strategic importance amid rising tensions surrounding Taiwan, as exemplified by increasing U.S. military presence there and the construction of new bases near the Luzon Strait. The channel is a key transit route between the Pacific and the South China Sea and thus a critical chokepoint for naval operations. The Babuyan Islands in the Luzon Strait are among the closest landmasses to Taiwan, providing a strategic staging ground for the Philippines, the United States, and other allied forces during a crisis or spiking tensions. China's assertiveness in the South China Sea has already led to increasingly frequent clashes between the Philippine Coast Guard and Chinese vessels. Moreover, further north, China has been stepping up incursions into Taiwan’s ADIZ, alongside increased naval patrols and military exercises around the island nation.
Amid rising geopolitical tensions, Tenax Aerospace’s new Gulfstream V jet is not the only ISR bizjet in the region. The U.S. military has increasingly relied on contractor-owned and operated jets over the past decade to boost its ISR capabilities. Deployed to the Philippines specifically, several Challenger 650 maritime patrol jets have supported U.S. Special Operations Command operations as well as flying the more ‘regular’ surveillance missions. Similar ISR bizjets have also operated out of Kadena and Yokota in Japan. Most notable is the ARES jet, a Global 6500 SIGINT jet flying operational missions as a technology demonstrator for the U.S. Army’s HADES program. By early 2025, the first ATHENA jet will join ARES when the new ISR bizjet will be deployed to South Korea. More information about the ARES and ATHENA jets can be found in the post below:
Note: the new mapping bizjet has largely remained out of the public eye, with no official or public connection to its mission. While one of my core commitments for Bizets of War is not to publish posts about ISR bizjets whose missions are not public (yet), I decided to make an exception in this case. The flight patterns of N36GV, along with its publicly available registration details, make it very easy to identify the bizjet's mission and directly link it to Tenax Aerospace. This diminishes any operational secrecy and makes the mission essentially public knowledge, which is why I decided to still post about the new bizjet.
Conclusion
The deployment of the new mapping Gulfstream V bizjet to the Philippines marks a new stage of military operations in the region. After years of similar operations above volatile regions in Africa and amid increasing tensions in the South China Sea region, the U.S. military appears to be stepping up its preparations for contingencies in the strategic region. High-quality maps are critical to modern military operations which is likely why the new Gulfstream V mapping bizjet has been gathering such mapping data. As other contractor-owned and operated ISR bizjets have already been deployed to the Philippines and Japan, this deployment is not the first of its kind. Still, the deployment of Tenax Aerospace’s new Gulfstream V mapping bizjet is yet another example of the U.S. military contracting bizjet-based ISR platforms to supplement its intelligence capabilities amid heightened tensions with (near-)peer adversaries like China.
Thank you
A massive thank you to Fabian (@fabsenbln) for helping me with this post, and thank you for reading this post! As always, feel free to reach out with your thoughts, questions and/or suggestions. If you have information or photos about the two jets in this post or ISR bizjets in general, you can always contact me via DMs (@bizjetsofwar) and/or send an email (see the About page). You will always stay anonymous and the information/photos will not be shared without explicit approval, but please do not send information you are not allowed to share.