The US Army has deployed the first prototype of its ATHENA-R surveillance aircraft to South Korea for critical operational assessments.
The spy plane, a modified version of Bombardier’s Global 6500 business jet, is set to undergo four months of rigorous testing to ensure its readiness for operations.
According to Andrew Evans, director of the Army’s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Task Force, the deployment will help identify any potential issues with the ATHENA-R and allow for necessary adjustments and tweaks.
“This will be an ongoing and iterative operational assessment with the goal of having those fixes complete in the coming months and then being in a sustainable place here by May or June,” he told Breaking Defense.
The four-month operational testing is scheduled to begin next week.
US Army BD-700 (ATHENA) N291SR SCRUM06 arrived into Camp Humphreys, South Korea from Greenville, Texas. pic.twitter.com/HD1AxliQS8
— Aircraft Spots (@AircraftSpots) February 13, 2025
About the ATHENA Program
In August 2023, the US Army contracted MAG Aerospace and L3Harris to produce two enhanced ISR aircraft under the Army Theater-Level, High-Altitude Expeditionary Next Airborne ISR-Radar (ATHENA-R) program.
The aircraft is designed to bridge the gap between medium- and high-altitude ISR platforms in the army’s inventory.
L3Harris stated that the ATHENA-R aircraft will offer increased endurance, extended standoff ranges, and enhanced payload capacity to support advanced ISR missions.
Two months after the production contract was awarded, the US Army selected Sierra Nevada Corporation to develop the “S” (Sensor) variant of the ATHENA spy plane.
The company won the competition after proposing its Rapcon-X platform, modified with an advanced suite of signals intelligence systems, sensors, and radars.
