US Army Moves to Own Five ATHENA and ARES ISR Jets Ahead of HADES

The US Army intends to acquire five contractor-owned ATHENA and ARES intelligence aircraft through three proposed sole-source, firm-fixed-price contracts. An October 6 procurement notice identifies two ATHENA-S aircraft from Sierra Nevada Corporation, one ARES aircraft from L3Harris and two ATHENA-R aircraft from MAG Aerospace. These business-jet-based platforms provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capacity while the Army transitions to its future ME-11B HADES high-altitude sensing fleet. The notice initiates the ownership acquisition process rather than announcing completed purchases, with capability statements due October 16 and the aircraft intended to bridge current collection requirements.