Overview
- HADES Prototype 1, which completed its first flight on Sept. 11, has moved into mission‑systems integration and a developmental flight test campaign to validate SIGINT and multi‑domain sensing ahead of operational demonstrations.
- The aircraft is a Sierra Nevada Corporation‑modified Bombardier Global 6500 operated under the Army’s Government‑Owned Government‑Operated model with SNC as lead systems integrator.
- SNC has acquired and modified multiple Global 6500s for HADES, including four jets configured toward the final HADES build, and it conducted a flight‑readiness review with Army test teams before the first flight.
- Official planning includes an Army RFI for 11 GOGO jets with an Acquisition Objective of 14, but media reporting has said the service trimmed its planned fleet size from about a dozen to roughly six airframes.
- HADES will be fielded in stages with three prototypes that progressively add advanced radar and mature combat credibility, and the program’s use of open architectures, AI/ML processing, and sensors such as Raytheon’s ASARS‑2B aims to speed integration and improve joint force situational awareness.