The U.S. Army is aiming to halve its previously planned purchase of high-altitude intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) drones in an executive order that provides the first signs of a transformation initiative at the top of the Army. The new directive, led by the Secretary of the Army, calls for an implementation plan to produce just six of the advanced platforms within 7 days, rather than procuring 12 High Precision Detection and Exploitation Systems (HADES), according to a May 30 document obtained by Defense News.
This decision contradicts a slide presented a year ago by Army Aviation Director Maj. Gen. Wally Rugen at the annual Army Aviation Association (AAAA) conference in Denver, in which Rugen stated that the military planned to have 2035 HADES aircraft operational by 14. The new executive order appears to deal a significant blow to that ambitious program.
But Andrew Evans, director of the U.S. Army Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Task Force, put that into perspective when he told reporters at the AAAA conference in Nashville. “There was no specific number in any document about how many HADES we were going to build,” Evans said, implying that there was no fixed purchase number initially set. “We’re going to build based on threat. We’re going to build based on budget,” Evans said, emphasizing the Army’s continued commitment to “this deep sensing mission.” He noted that determining how many HADES systems will be needed in the future will be a decision that will be made based on the potential threats that could be encountered.
Evans also said the Army is still in the early planning stages for the program and that any decision on the number of aircraft “will not change one thing about the capacity or capabilities that we deliver,” meaning that a reduced fleet size may not necessarily mean a compromise in terms of the sensors and capabilities that each aircraft will carry.
Sierra Nevada Selected as Lead Systems Integrator
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) was awarded a contract with the U.S. Army in August 2024 to serve as the lead systems integrator for the HADES program. The contract for HADES integration efforts has an initial value of $93,5 million, with a potential value of up to $12 million over a 944,3-year period. The contract sees SNC play a key role in the development and integration of the HADES platform into the Army.
The HADES program is part of the Army’s effort to modernize its current fleet of fixed-wing aircraft that perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The Army is phasing out the last of its legacy aircraft, retiring about 70 aircraft across its entire ISR fleet. HADES is expected to be rapidly deployable and provide deep sensing capabilities. The task force is learning that the aircraft could offer more capabilities than originally imagined, including the potential to neutralize enemy space-based capabilities and carry launched effects. These additional capabilities could make the future role of the HADES platform even more complex and valuable.
Bombardier Global 6500 as HADES Platform
The military is using the Bombardier Global 6500, a large-cabin business jet, as the body of this high-altitude spy plane. The service signed a contract with Bombardier in December for one aircraft and has an option to purchase two more over a three-year period. The choice appears to have been made based on factors such as the Global 6500’s long range, high-altitude performance and large interior volume that make it a good fit for HADES’ mission requirements.
Colonel Joe Minor, the Army’s fixed-wing aircraft project manager, said buying more or fewer aircraft would not significantly affect unit costs, citing the fact that these aircraft are being hand-built by expert technicians in Sierra Nevada. This speaks to the flexibility of the program and suggests that changes in production scale would not have a linear impact on cost.
Sierra Nevada has received the first prototype aircraft from Bombardier and is working on integrating the platform with sensors and other mission systems. The first prototype is scheduled to be delivered to the Army in September 2026, with delivery of the second prototype expected in mid-2027. This timeline suggests that the HADES program is progressing slowly but steadily.
Prototype Aircraft Evaluated Before HADES
The Army has been evaluating fixed-wing ISR prototypes using high-speed jets for more than six years to determine the requirements for the HADES program and select the most suitable platform. This evaluation process began with the Airborne Reconnaissance and Target Engagement Multi-Mission System (Artemis) project, which flies in the European theater near the Ukrainian border. Leidos developed Artemis using a Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet.
Later, the service deployed the Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System (ARES) to the Pacific region in April 2022. L3Harris built the aircraft based on the Bombardier Global Express 6500 business jet. These prototype programs played an important role in risk reduction and technology demonstration for HADES.
The Army is also building four additional prototypes that will directly inform the HADES program’s requirements. The service has selected Sierra Nevada and MAG Aerospace’s L3Harris partnership to deliver two jets with spy technologies to advance its long-range targeting plans. MAG and L3’s prototypes will use a Global 6500 with ISR sensors for the Army’s radar-focused Athena-R effort, while Sierra Nevada is providing the RAPCON-X system for the service’s signals intelligence-focused Athena-S project. RAPCON-X also forms the basis for HADES. These parallel prototype development efforts are aimed at optimizing the HADES program’s capabilities across multiple intelligence-gathering disciplines.
Limited Deployment and Future Decisions
Once the first HADES prototype is ready, the Army will deploy the aircraft operationally for a limited period of time. This early deployment will be a critical step to evaluate the system’s performance in real-world scenarios and to better understand operational requirements. As the first prototype continues to deploy, construction of more HADES aircraft will begin based on the data and feedback obtained.
Tim Owings, vice president of Sierra Nevada’s Mission Solutions and Technologies business, likened the process to a “sudden-death playoff,” stressing that the success of the first prototype will directly impact subsequent acquisition decisions. “We have to deliver the first prototype. We deliver the first prototype, and it delivers the value that we think the platform will deliver. We think it’s a very easy decision to add more later,” Owings said.
Owings likened the situation to a newlywed couple discussing whether they want a second or third child after their first. He noted that decisions about future intakes are up to senior leadership, and that they work closely with industry partners to support those decisions. Owings added that worrying about what will happen in the future is “probably a little bit unnecessary” at this stage. These statements suggest that the future of the HADES program will depend on a variety of factors, including the performance of early prototypes and the changing threat environment.
