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Budget · Risk

Army can't award HADES spy jet production contract under a CR, official says

The Army had planned to sign it with Sierra Nevada Corporation around the start of 2027, Breaking Defense reported. The current continuing resolution runs through Dec. 11.

The Army is "ready to move in on the ‘27 [plan to] award a production contract" for its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) spy jet, Andrew Evans told Breaking Defense. "We cannot do that … until we clear a CR," he said. Evans, who directs the Strategy & Transformation Office under the Army's deputy chief of staff for intelligence (G-2), said the program is "completely on cost" and "completely on schedule."1

Two of the Army's FY27 new starts are for HADES

A spy plane based on Bombardier’s Global 6500 aircraft

platform and system integration$131.7 millionrequested

The Army requested

micro-high altitude balloons and payloads$15.3 millionrequested

The Army requested

A CR means the Pentagon cannot begin funding new programs

The CR is in place through Dec. 11, but there’s no guarantee programs can commence once it ends

Reported by Breaking Defense, Oct. 1, 2026

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

Lawmakers have not approved a fiscal 2027 defense spending bill, and the CR funding the government runs through Dec. 11, Breaking Defense reported.1–2 Under a CR, the Department of War cannot begin funding new programs, known as new starts. Breaking Defense's search of fiscal 2027 budget documents found two HADES new starts, including $131.7 million the Army requested for platform and system integration.2

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) won HADES in August 2024 with a $991.3 million multi-year contract to deliver aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance jets to the Army.3 A team of L3Harris, Leidos and MAG Aerospace also bid to replace the Army's RC-12 Guardrail turboprops, and the Government Accountability Office denied L3Harris's protest in December 2024, Breaking Defense reported.4 So far the Army is developing three prototypes, government-furnished Bombardier Global 6500 jets that SNC is outfitting with different tech packages.1, 3 Production aircraft were to come after those prototypes, under the deal Evans says the CR blocks, the outlet reported.1

The first prototype is slated for delivery around January 2027, close to when the Army had planned the production deal, Breaking Defense reported. If talks with lawmakers and the budget slip further into 2027, or defense leaders pull HADES funding for other priorities, that contract could be put on ice, the outlet reported.1

Sources (4)
  1. Breaking Defense: Continuing resolution could 'complicate' Army's HADES spy plane production: Official (Oct. 13, 2026) breakingdefense.com
  2. Breaking Defense: Can't start, won't start: Over 150 new military programs face delay under a CR (Oct. 1, 2026) breakingdefense.com
  3. SNC: SNC Wins $991.3M Contract to Deliver U.S. Army HADES Jets (Aug. 26, 2024) www.sncorp.com
  4. Breaking Defense: Army restarts work on new HADES spy plane program (Jan. 8, 2025) breakingdefense.com
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Budget · Light attack

A two-ship formation of A-29 Super Tucanos fly over Kabul, Afghanistan during a mission on April 28, 2016.
Archive photograph · A two-ship formation of A-29 Super Tucanos fly over Kabul, Afghanistan during a mission on April 28, 2016. Staff Sgt. Larry Reid Jr. / DVIDS Taken 2016-04-28. public-domain; reuse terms. The appearance of U.S. Department of War (DoW) visual information does not imply or constitute DoW endorsement.

Air Force divests its A-29 fleet, Breaking Defense reports

Breaking Defense reports the Air Force plans to store its three Super Tucanos with SNC after the aircraft did not meet test pilot school needs.

The Air Force has divested its three A-29 Super Tucanos at Edwards Air Force Base, the service’s only examples of the Embraer-made turboprop, Breaking Defense reported.1

The aircraft are not expected to return to flight for Air Force use

three A-29 Super Tucanos

SNCplans to sole-source a contractplanned

the service plans to sole-source a contract with SNC to store the aircraft

storage contracta single base year and two option yearsplanned

the storage contract would have a single base year and two option years

Reported by Breaking Defense, Nov. 3, 2026

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

An Edwards spokesperson told the outlet that the aircraft had been thoroughly evaluated but did not meet the intended use for the Air Force Test Pilot School.1

Air Force Special Operations Command originally bought the aircraft, then relinquished them after mission requirements changed, the outlet reported, citing a 2024 Air Force release. The test pilot school subsequently took them to assess whether they could meet its test needs.1

An Oct. 29 Air Force notice outlined plans for a sole-source contract with SNC to store the aircraft. The planned contract would have one base year and two option years. The notice said the aircraft were not expected to return to flight for Air Force use.1

Embraer assembles A-29s in Jacksonville, Florida, where SNC installs mission equipment for U.S. and specific foreign military sales customers. Embraer officials have said that the Jacksonville line could be at risk without sufficient demand; the company also operates a separate Super Tucano production facility in Brazil.1

Officials are exploring future options for a sustainable spin and mission systems aircraft for the test pilot school, the Edwards spokesperson told Breaking Defense.1

Sources (1)
  1. Air Force divests its few A-29s, explores ‘future options’, Breaking Defense, Nov. 3, 2026 breakingdefense.com
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Industry · Naval aviation training

SNC exits Navy T-45 replacement competition, Breaking Defense reports

Breaking Defense reports SNC declined to bid under the Navy’s contract structure, leaving Textron’s M-346N as the service’s “one true competitor.”

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has left the Navy’s Undergraduate Jet Training System (UJTS) competition to replace the T-45 Goshawk, Breaking Defense reported Nov. 3. SNC told the outlet it could not responsibly bid under the current contract structure.1

SNC is no longer competing for the Navy's new training jet

Undergraduate Jet Training System

SNC could not responsibly bid the UJTS [Undergraduate Jet Training System] program under the current contract structure

Textron Aviation Defense, the only known major competitor to SNC, confirmed to Breaking Defense that the firm submitted its offering of the M-346N to the Navy.

Stavatti Aerospace said on Oct. 30 it submitted a bid on UJTS

Reported by Breaking Defense

Sources
TGOs tgos.io

Breaking Defense says SNC’s exit leaves the Navy with “one true competitor”: Textron Aviation Defense, which confirmed to the outlet that it submitted the M-346N. The outlet also reported that Stavatti Aerospace said on Oct. 30 that it submitted a bid.1

SNC said it remains committed to naval jet training and would be ready to re-engage if the approach is revisited. Breaking Defense’s account does not identify the contract terms SNC objected to.1

The competitive field had already narrowed: Lockheed Martin announced in April it would not submit the TF-50N with Korea Aerospace Industries, and Boeing announced its departure in June. In September, Breaking Defense reported that Northrop Grumman was dropping off SNC’s bid, which centered on a clean-sheet design called the Freedom.1

The Navy kept its Oct. 30 proposal deadline, extended from June 30, the program office told the outlet. It now estimates an award between July and the end of September 2027, later than the June 2027 target in its September request for proposals. The service originally planned a March 2027 selection.1

Breaking Defense says the M-346N appears to be the de facto winner, barring a reopened competition or surprise entrant. The program office told the outlet that source selection is underway.1

Sources (1)
  1. Breaking Defense: EXCLUSIVE: SNC pulls out of Navy’s trainer jet competition breakingdefense.com
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