The crash comes just days after the USAF awarded a US217m (A$321m) contract extension to Northrop Grumman to continue to operate the BACN system until January 2021. The Northrop Grumman-developed BACN payload is carried by the E-11A and unmanned Northrop Grumman EQ-4B Global Hawks, and is considered vital in remote Afghanistan where the rugged terrain makes line-of-sight communications between ground and airborne nodes difficult.īACN can also provide a node to allow modern 5 th generation systems such as the F-35 or F-22 to communicate directly and securely with older generation combat aircraft or forces on the ground. The condition of the crashed aircraft’s crew – who areĪssigned to the 430th Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron – was not known The USAF operates four E-11As which carry a crew of four and can flyĪt altitudes up to 51,000 feet, allowing them a vast line-of-sightĬommunications horizon. It is used heavily in Afghanistan, connecting troops on the ground, communications systems, and radios. The E-11A, a heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet, acts as Wi-Fi in the sky. The aircraft, part of 430th EECS wing, was outfitted with a Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) and operated as a communications-relay platform out of Kandahar Airport, Afghanistan. Largely burnt out, but the national markings and aircraft registration clearly The Air Force recently awarded Bombardier a 465 million contract for up to six more E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft. Air Force crashed in the Deh Yak district in Afghanistan, killing both pilots. The aircraft, a converted Global Express business jet configured to carry the battlefield airborne communications node (BACN) payload crashed in a remote part of eastern Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban.Īmateur video and photographs show the aircraft’s fuselage An unattributed image of the crashed E-11A.Ī USAF Bombardier E-11A has crashed in Afghanistan. Afghanistan US Forces spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett confirmed in a statement that the aircraft was a US Bombardier E-11A, a type of jet used as a military airborne communications node in the region.
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