HAGERSTOWN, Maryland — Sierra Nevada Corporation has landed government and military contracts that will provide Hagerstown Regional Airport with a stable supply of work and the good-paying jobs that come with it for years to come, airport officials said.
This includes a $991.3 million contract with the U.S. Army to deliver a fleet of up to 14 additional ISR-capable jets based on the Bombardier Global 6500 aircraft platform. This project comes in addition to two Global 6500 aircraft already being developed under a separate $554 million contract, announced in November 2023.
In addition, SNC was awarded a third contract valued at $170.0 million to prepare and equip two Challenger 650 jets for the border guard of the European country of Finland. Together, these announcements reinforce SNC’s position as a leading provider of aerospace and defense solutions, as well as Hagerstown Regional’s role as an airport that has a significant and positive impact on the local and state economy.
For more information, please see all three SNC press releases listed below.
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SPARKS, Nev. (August 26, 2024) – SNC has been awarded a $991.3 million, multi-year contract to deliver intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft to the U.S. Army in support of the Army’s High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program.
“We are so proud to help shape the future of the Army’s airborne intelligence with a next-generation jet that can fly higher, faster, and lower, enabling more comprehensive sensing during large-scale and multi-discipline operations,” said Fatih Ozmen, owner and CEO of SNC. “At SNC, we are known for putting the customer first. We saw the changing mission areas coming and worked from the beginning to understand the Army’s true needs to ensure SNC was always able to meet capacity and time constraints. We developed the most flexible and configurable software system in the industry to ensure the Army’s most critical mission requirements were met when the time came – and those after that. Today, I am proud to say we have officially been entrusted to deliver the mission.”
The HADES prototypes will utilize a government-owned Bombardier Global 6500 jet and will be the Army’s first large-cabin business jets to serve as ISR air platforms. The aircraft’s primary purpose is to provide advanced, deep-penetration sensor capabilities for multi-domain operations against peer and near-peer adversaries.
Many of SNC’s signature design and integration capabilities, including AI/ML, are built into the HADES system, enabling mission processing, exploitation and dissemination to enable comprehensive understanding faster. SNC’s solution was developed using model-based systems engineering (MBSE), which significantly reduces the time required to integrate new and different systems and capabilities when needed. It can be easily reconfigured for specific mission purposes without redesigning the aircraft, and SNC’s strong open architecture backbone approach maximizes capability and schedules.
Josh Walsh, SNC’s Vice President of Programs, explains, “SNC’s HADES solution is based on rapid configurability, allowing the aircraft to be quickly adapted to specific reconnaissance missions based on tactical and operational requirements. This integration makes the HADES jet quickly operational and provides fundamental improvements in speed, range, payload and endurance for the Army’s airborne ISR detection capabilities.”
In preparation for the HADES program, the Army’s theater-level High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne–Signals Intelligence (ATHENA) project was used to collect platform and sensor performance data to inform future decisions. In 2023, SNC was selected to provide airborne ISR as a service for the ATHENA project, performing contractor-owned, contractor-operated (COCO) functions, including support for aircraft, logistics, pilot, flight and maintenance operations.
“We are honored to continue our partnership with the Army to develop and deliver a modernized aerial warfare ISR capability,” said Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s MST business unit. “By combining our hundreds of thousands of hours of GOCO and COCO solutions with the same digital design process and engineering techniques we successfully certified and applied to the ATHENA aircraft, SNC is well prepared to provide the Army with both the technical and cost advantages it needs to succeed in the fight on a par.”
With more than 60 years of experience in aircraft modification and integration, SNC’s experienced engineering and maintenance teams will work on this contract from its Maryland location. SNC will support the Army with aircraft modifications, deliveries and ongoing government operated (GOCO) services.
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SPARKS, Nevada (June 27, 2024) – SNC has been awarded a $170 million contract to supply two RAPCON-X jets to the Finnish Border Guard as part of the “MVX” program. The RAPCON-X system family, currently in production, is SNC’s latest integrated intelligence, surveillance and aerial reconnaissance (A-ISR) solution. For this program, SNC is using a Bombardier Challenger 650 aircraft with RAPCON-X configuration, tailored to the Finnish Border Guard’s MVX specifications, bringing a modernized and significantly increased capability to the fixed-wing fleet.
“SNC is honored to be a trusted partner of the Finnish Border Guard during this critical time in Europe,” said Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s Mission Solutions and Technologies business unit. “RAPCON-X’s rapid configurability increases interoperability within Finland’s national security infrastructure – as well as NATO – and equips the Finnish Border Guard for successful missions now and in the future.”
The Finnish Border Guard’s current fleet monitors borders and territorial waters, supports rescue operations in maritime emergencies, detects environmental disasters at sea and supports clean-up operations. The new, more efficient multi-purpose aircraft will significantly improve Finland’s border security and the monitoring of territorial integrity, especially along the eastern border.
RAPCON-X offers high reliability, longer range, endurance and a survivable operating envelope – providing significant improvements in uptime and area coverage. In its MVX configuration, RAPCON-X can perform all legacy missions while providing superior capability, interoperability and upgradeability for the next 30 years.
“RAPCON-X is uniquely tailored to Finland’s immense maritime and border security challenges,” said Josh Walsh, Vice President of Programs. “We are honored and proud to partner with the Finnish Border Guard to equip its forces with this new capability. As a new NATO ally, Finland plays a critical role in European security. SNC is proud to support its efforts.”
The RAPCON-X aircraft solution was developed using model-based systems engineering (MBSE), which allows for rapid change, and uses an open mission systems architecture that significantly reduces the time required to integrate new systems and add capabilities. This provides the flexibility needed to enable seamless future upgrades throughout the program lifecycle.
The Finnish Border Guard signed the contract for the MVX program on June 27, 2024 in Helsinki, Finland. SNC will continue work on the RAPCON-X aircraft from its integration center in Hagerstown, Maryland. Delivery of the aircraft is planned for 2026 and 2027.
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SPARKS, Nev. (Nov. 14, 2023) – SNC has been awarded a $554 million, multi-year contract to deliver aeronautic intelligence, aerial reconnaissance, surveillance and reconnaissance (A-ISR) jets in support of the Army’s Theater Level High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Aerial–Signals Intelligence (ATHENA-S) project. Currently in production, the RAPCON-X family of systems is the latest addition to SNC’s turnkey A-ISR-as-a-Service model for contractor owned-contractor-operated (COCO) capabilities that include aircraft, pilots, flight and maintenance operations, and logistics support, ready to deploy in hours.
“We are proud to continue to support the Army as a prime contractor with forward-thinking solutions that put the Soldier first,” said Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s MST business unit. “This award is a direct result of SNC’s commitment to going above and beyond and staying one step ahead by anticipating challenges and developing innovative solutions years in advance.”
The ATHENA-S project is a key part of the Army’s “learning campaign” to familiarize its air and intelligence agencies with high-altitude sensor operations. It is designed to meet the Army’s aerial surveillance needs until the Army-operated High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program becomes operational later this decade.
SNC’s RAPCON-X solution is a fully designed aircraft with a functional mission interior with workstations, a galley, toilets and sleeping quarters for the crew. It was developed using model-based systems engineering (MBSE), which allows modifications to be made quickly. It also uses an open architecture for mission systems, which significantly reduces the time required to integrate new systems and add functionality.
To ensure readiness to meet the Army’s deadline, SNC acquired two RAPCON-X Bombardier Global 6500 jets in 2022, which will enable SNC to have both aircraft operational by the third quarter of 2024. The aircraft have been undergoing technical integration through SNC’s internal investment channels for more than 20 months.
“Our ground-up digital design process and engineering techniques make RAPCON-X one of the most capable and rapidly configurable A-ISR platforms in the world,” said Owings. “RAPCON-X is a system of systems that arrives ready to deploy when and where needed, and adapts quickly as the battlespace evolves.”
Rapid configurability allows the aircraft to be quickly adapted to specific reconnaissance missions by rapidly changing onboard equipment to meet tactical requirements. In its base configuration, RAPCON-X is capable of collecting and processing signals intelligence, electro-optical reconnaissance, and signatures of moving ground targets using a synthetic aperture radar. SNC will conduct work on this contract from its aircraft integration facilities in Hagerstown, Maryland.
