Bombardier delivered a Global 6000 business jet to the Air Force that is slated for conversion to the E-11A standard for overhead communications relay, announced the Canadian company on Sept. 6. “The intention is to equip this new addition with the battlefield airborne communications node, or BACN, in time for deployment next summer,” states the company’s release. The handover took place on Aug. 30 at Bombardier’s facility in Connecticut. This airframe is the fourth Bombardier Global aircraft to join the Air Force’s inventory for the BACN role. The other three jets have been supporting coalition operations in Afghanistan, along with similarly equipped EQ-4B Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft. “We are delighted that the Air Force has once again selected a Bombardier aircraft to carry out their BACN mission,” said Derek Gilmour, company vice president for specialized and amphibious aircraft. The BACN communications suite, which Northrop Grumman supplies the Air Force, enables disparate battlefield communications systems to share data.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.