SNC has been awarded a multi-year, $554-million contract to deliver aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (A-ISR) jets in support of the U.S. 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 newest addition to SNC’s turnkey, A-ISR-as-a-service model for contractor-owned-contractor-operated (COCO) capabilities – including aircraft, pilot, flight and maintenance operations, and logistics support – that is deployable within just hours.
The ATHENA-S project is a critical part of the Army’s “campaign of learning” to familiarize its aviation and intelligence branches with high-altitude sensing operations. It seeks to inform the Army’s aerial surveillance needs until the Army-operated High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program of record enters service later this decade.
SNC’s RAPCON-X solution is a fully shaped aircraft with a functional mission interior featuring workstations, a galley, lavatories and crew berthing quarters. It is designed using model-based systems engineering (MBSE), creating the ability to rapidly engineer modifications, and uses an open architecture for mission systems that significantly reduces the time required to integrate new systems and add capabilities.
To ensure readiness to meet the Army’s deadline, SNC took possession of two RAPCON-X Bombardier Global 6500 jets in 2022, positioning SNC to have both aircraft operational by Q3 2024. The aircraft have been undergoing engineering integration for more than 20 months through SNC’s internal investment channels.
Rapid configurability means the aircraft is swiftly adapted to specific recon missions by quickly switching out on-board equipment to match tactical needs. In its baseline configuration, RAPCON-X is able to collect and process signals intelligence, electro-optical reconnaissance, and ground moving-target signatures using a synthetic aperture radar. SNC will perform work on this contract from its aircraft integration facilities in Hagerstown, Maryland.
“We are proud to continue supporting the Army as a prime contractor with forward-thinking solutions that put the warfighter first,” said . “This award is the direct result of SNC’s commitment to putting ‘skin in the game’ and staying one step ahead by anticipating challenges and innovating solutions years in advance. Our born-digital design process and engineering techniques place RAPCON-X among the most capable and rapidly configurable A-ISR platforms worldwide. RAPCON-X is a system-of-systems that arrives ready to complete the mission, whenever and wherever the need is, quickly modifying as the battlespace evolves.” — Tim Owings, Executive Vice President, Business Area, SNC
