USAF to buy more BACN

The US Air Force (USAF) plans to strengthen its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) fleet, with a further six aircraft to be procured over the coming five years.

With the fleet currently comprising three Bombardier Global 6000 regional jet-based E-11A (one of the original four was lost on operations in Afghanistan in 2020) and four Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft, the service disclosed on 5 February that it plans to acquire a further six E-11As through to 2026.

“In an effort to boost the fleet, the BACN Program Office is working to procure six E-11A aircraft over the next five years. The team has secured additional funding for the first aircraft, and contract negotiations on a purchase agreement are currently in progress,” the USAF said, adding that it expects to have a contract in place by the end of March. While the announcement said that all six aircraft would be delivered by the end of June, it appears from the previously stated timeline that ‘2026’ was inadvertently omitted.

News of the proposed boost to numbers came days after the USAF awarded Northrop Grumman USD3.6 billion for continued BACN operations, sustainment, and support.