Bombardier Hands over Ninth Global for USAF BACN Program | Aviation International News

Bombardier Hands over Ninth Global for USAF BACN Program

Global 6500 is fitted as communications platform

Bombardier BACN Global delivery ceremony — Bombardier celebrated the ninth Global delivery for the BACN program at Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts.

By Kerry Lynch • Editor, AIN monthly magazine

September 22, 2025

Bombardier has handed over its ninth Global aircraft to the U.S. Air Force for the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) program, the company announced today. The BACN aircraft, a Global 6500, was delivered during a ceremony this month at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts under an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract affirmed in 2021 and valued at up to $465 million. That agreement succeeded earlier contracts with the USAF for the communications platform that date back nearly two decades.

Known as the E-11A and referred to as “Wi-Fi in the sky,” the aircraft is used as a specialized high-altitude communication platform to bridge voice and tactical data between aircraft and land forces. The USAF has cited the aircraft’s flexible deployment options and ability to operate at high altitudes as enabling its forces to overcome communications difficulties caused by mountains, rough terrain, or distances and increasing situational awareness in the air and on the ground.

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Global 5000 and 6000 Series

Bombardier

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