US Army's HADES Spy Jet Flies for the First Time, a Global 6500 Replacing Turboprop ISR
The US Army said on October 30 that HADES Prototype 1, an airborne intelligence aircraft built on a modified Bombardier Global 6500 business jet, made its first flight on September 11, moving the program into mission system integration and developmental flight testing.
The US Army announced on October 30 that the first prototype of its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) made its first flight on September 11, with the Army's Fixed Wing Project Office and industry partner Sierra Nevada Corporation leading the flight after a flight readiness review. In the same release, the Army described HADES as using "an advanced commercial jet airframe designed for greater speed, range, payload capacity, and operating altitude than legacy turboprop ISR platforms."
That airframe is a modified Bombardier Global 6500, which the Army has designated ME-11B, The Aviationist reported on October 31.
"The first flight of HADES Prototype 1 transitions our vision for deep sensing from concept to reality," the project manager of the Army's Fixed Wing Project Office said in the Army release.
Sierra Nevada Corporation, the program's lead systems integrator, said on January 13, 2026 that it had bought a fourth Global 6500 at its own expense at the end of 2025, describing it as "the first non-prototype aircraft in the A-ISR fleet"; the company said the first three HADES aircraft then undergoing modification were prototypes. According to The Aviationist, the first of those airframes was received in November 2024 and the second in September 2025, the Army issued a Request for Information on January 22, 2026 for 11 government-owned, government-operated Global 6500s, and the service's ultimate acquisition objective is 14 aircraft.
Reported fleet figures have differed over time. Breaking Defense reported in May 2025 that an Army execute order dated May 7, 2025 cut the planned HADES fleet from 12 aircraft to six; the 14-aircraft acquisition objective is the figure The Aviationist reported in October 2026.
HADES replaces the Army's turboprop airborne ISR and signals intelligence fleet, including the RC-12X Guardrail, the MC-12S EMARSS-M and the EO-5C ARL-M, according to The Aviationist. The EO-5C ARL-M is a conversion of the DHC-7 Dash 7 turboprop.
The Global 6500 belongs to Bombardier's Global Express family, which other military operators already fly. In GlobalMilitary.net's inventory data, military operators in 13 countries fly or have ordered aircraft of the family, and the US Air Force operates it as the E-11A, with five in service and four on order in GMN's data. GMN examined the type's military operators in an earlier article.
The Army said the first flight moves HADES into mission system integration and developmental flight testing, the phase in which, according to the release, the program will "validate multi-domain sensing and signals intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities." Sierra Nevada Corporation said in January that the first prototype was scheduled for delivery into Army operational service in 2026.
More News
All news →
Hanwha Philly Shipyard Selected to Build Its First US Navy Ship, a $269 Million Medium Landing Ship
Hanwha Defense USA said on Oct. 29 that TOTE Services had chosen its Philly Shipyard to build one Medium Landing Ship for the US Navy and Marine Corps under TOTE's $2.2 billion construction-management contract, with options for three more vessels.
Russia Says Pacific Fleet Submarine Generalissimus Suvorov Fired Bulava Missile From Sea of Okhotsk
The Borey-class submarine Generalissimus Suvorov launched a Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile from a submerged position in the Sea of Okhotsk on October 28, the Russian Ministry of Defence said, in what the Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces project calls a rare Pacific Fleet firing.
How the F-35B Lift Fan Hovers a Supersonic Jet Where the Harrier Needed Four Swiveling Nozzles
Twenty-five years after the Joint Strike Fighter award of 26 October 2001, how the F-35B's shaft-driven lift fan lets a supersonic fighter land vertically where the Harrier used four swiveling nozzles, and what the fan costs it in fuel, payload and price.
UK to Require Overseas Defense Suppliers to Invest Up to 100% of Contract Value in Britain From April 2027
The UK will require overseas firms winning defense contracts of £50 million or more to invest up to the full contract value in British jobs, factories and technology from April 2027, under an offset policy announced on 30 October 2026 that will not normally cover government-to-government deals.
Switzerland Shortlists Barak MX and SAMP/T NG for Second Long-Range Air Defense System, Keeps Patriot
The Federal Council on October 28 tasked the DDPS with continuing the evaluation of Israel's Barak MX and France's SAMP/T NG as a second long-range ground-based air defense system, to be fielded alongside a Patriot acquisition Bern says it will maintain despite delivery delays.
US Navy Has No Frigates in Service While 50 Other Navies Field 407 as Washington Weighs Foreign Designs
GlobalMilitary.net data shows the US Navy with no frigates in commission against 407 in 50 other fleets, as a White House-ordered plan for new surface combatants falls due in mid-November and foreign designs are offered.