Both of the Air Force’s Battlefield Airborne Communications Node-equipped aircraft have received new designations intended to reflect BACN’s “special electronic mission,” announced Northrop Grumman. The Bombardier Global Express BD-700, which is used as an overhead communication’s relay platform in Southwest Asia, has been designed the E-11A, while the BACN-modified Global Hawks will now be known as EQ-4Bs, according to a Northrop Grumman release. “This new designation of the manned and unmanned BACN aircraft reflects a unique aircraft mix that provides theater commanders complimentary capabilities to support the BACN missions,” said Claude Hashem, vice president and general manager of Northrop’s Network Communications Systems business. “The E-11A business jets provide rapid tactical deployment options, while the EQ-4B unmanned systems provide long endurance and unsurpassed persistence capabilities.” The Air Force awarded Northrop a $43 million, five-month contract extension in September to operate, support, and maintain the services two E-11As and to operate and maintain the BACN payload, according to the release.
The Space Force has selected six commercial space domain awareness companies to support military operations with both steady-state and surge capacity, as part of the service’s new Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve.