United States Department of State announced that the U.S. Air Force has awarded Learjet Inc., a $464,851,645 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft.
This contract provides for the purchase of up to six Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft and completion work. Work will be performed in Wichita, Kansas, and is expected to be completed May 2026. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition.
Fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement funds in the amount $70,000,000 are being obligated with the initial delivery order at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity.
The Bombardier Global 6000 platform, provides an airborne data relay and gateway that allows real-time information exchanges between different tactical data link systems.
The BACN payload that they carry is an extremely robust communications gateway that can rapidly send and receive data transmitted through various waveforms to and from a wide array of aerial platforms, as well as forces on the ground.
The BACN program delivers the flexibility required to conduct communications operations in hostile conditions and austere locations, making it an indispensable command and control asset.
BACN provides communications channels and channel conversions in a geographic area where terrestrial services are either restricted or unavailable. BACN offers three service categories: Tactical Data Services, Voice Services and Inter Protocol Services. In general, BACN provides value to users by either extending the range of an external interface, or by converting external interface data from one format to another.