Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
ISR aircraft are upgraded with open architecture, AI, and networking to operate in contested airspace.
By Owen Davies
Contributing Writer
It hasn’t been long since we looked at US military aircraft used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
And yet there have been significant developments in ISR aviation since then. For a start, 2 of the aircraft covered in our last article – the US Army’s Beech RC-12X/X+ and MC-12S King Air derivatives – have been retired. And the venerable Lockheed U-2 “Dragon Lady” is scheduled for retirement this fiscal year.
Historically, ISR aircraft have been highly specialized single-mission platforms with closed electronic architectures. Lately, they are being upgraded to – or replaced by – highly networked, modular aircraft that can operate in contested airspace against adversaries who are nearly as capable.
A few dominant themes have driven current improvements – software that merges data from different sensors for a comprehensive picture of their environment, artificial intelligence, open systems architecture, and greater ability to survive in hostile environments. Even the U-2 is still receiving upgrades so that it can continue operating in contested airspace.
Here is a look at the jets, turboprops, and one helicopter type that give the US military its eyes in the sky.
US Air Force aircraft
Air Tractor OA-1K Skyraider II. A modified cropduster, it has several advantages over other ISR aircraft. It can operate from unimproved 1200-ft-long runways. It carries offensive weapons and costs much less to fly than any jet. The OA-1K carries a crew of 2 – the pilot and a weapon systems officer. Cruising at 180 kts, it has a combat radius of 200 nm with 6 hours loiter time.
Mission equipment includes turrets that typically carry high-definition (HD) electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) cameras and a targeting laser.
Self-defense hardware includes a missile approach warning system and countermeasures dispensers.
For attack, it carries Hellfire missiles, guided rockets, and laser-guided bombs.
Some 75 Skyraider IIs have been ordered. By the end of 2025, around 10 had been delivered.
Bombardier E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN). This modified Global 6000 was first deployed in 2008.
Pro Pilot readers are likely familiar with its characteristics as a business jet – Mach 0.85 cruise speed, 6000-nm range, and a 51,000-ft service ceiling.
Nicknamed “Wi-Fi in the sky,” the E-11A carries equipment that translates and distributes imagery, voice, and tactical data among incompatible communication systems.
It extends the range of line-of-sight communications across land-, space-, and sea-based systems that could not otherwise communicate directly. Its high operating altitude allows a single aircraft to provide communications coverage over hundreds of thousands of square miles.
The current BACN fleet totals 3 aircraft. Six more are scheduled for delivery by 2027.
Boeing E-3 Sentry. The USAF began retiring the E-3 in 2023 in favor of the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail, but the last are expected to fly until 2035. Fifteen examples remain on the books.
The E-3 cruises around 500 KTAS. Endurance of 8 hours before refueling gives it a range exceeding 4000 nm. It operates with a flight crew of 4 plus 13–19 mission specialists. Its most characteristic feature is the 30-ft “rotodome” mounted above the fuselage. This houses a pulse-Doppler radar system that can look up well into the stratosphere or down to distinguish low-flying targets from ground clutter.
Upgrades completed in 2015 introduced open-architecture computing, enhanced electronic support measures, and updated consoles to reduce operator workload.
Boeing E-7A Wedgetail. Derived from the 737-700, the Wedgetail carries a dorsal “top hat” fairing for the radar and mission systems. It cruises around 410 kts with a range of about 3500 miles without refueling.
It carries 2 flight crew and up to 19 mission specialists. Mission equipment includes the MES AESA radar with 360º coverage above and below.
The aircraft is optimized for tactical battle management and command-and-control, carrying an airborne moving target indicator platform.
The first 2 US Wedgetails (of 26) are expected to enter service around 2028, with production continuing through 2032.
Boeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint. Derived from the C-135 Stratolifter, the Rivet Joint variant entered service in 1964. The aircraft currently average 57 years old. Flight characteristics include 435-kt cruise speed, a range of 3390 nm, and a service ceiling of 50,000 ft. It carries a crew of 27, including at least 21 mission specialists.
A variety of specialized antennae and sensors in distinctive “cheek” blisters and an elongated nose radome feed electronic intelligence (ELINT) and communications intelligence (COMINT) systems that can intercept, analyze, and pinpoint enemy communications and radar, transmitting data to ground stations and combat commanders.
Upgrades are in progress, and plans call for the Rivet Joint to remain in service through 2050.
Boeing WC-135R Constant Phoenix. Only 3 examples of this modified C-135B airframe are flying. They offer a top speed of 350 kts with a range of 3500 nm. The WC-135R has a remarkable carrying capacity – 2 pilots, 2 navigators, and at least 33 equipment operators.
This is a unique special-purpose aircraft. Its only task is to collect atmospheric samples to identify nuclear detonations in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and national intelligence requirements.
It carries a variety of external flow-through devices to collect atmospheric particulates and internal compressors for whole-air sampling. It detects nuclear detonations and identifies the elements they release.
Although no dramatic upgrades are planned, the Constant Phoenix receives continuous improvements for mission effectiveness and survivability.
Gulfstream EA-37B Compass Call. This is the familiar G550 bizjet, with a top speed of Mach 0.82, a range of 3830 nm, and a service ceiling of 45,000 ft. With 2 pilots, it carries up to 7 mission crew. The first was delivered in 2024.
The EA-37B is an electronic attack aircraft. It carries the Small Adaptive Bank of Electronic Resources (SABER) system with software-defined radios, conformal antenna arrays, and advanced collaborative targeting equipment.
The platform carries out simultaneous attacks on communications and radar systems.
Unlike simple jammers, SABER can protect friendly communications while degrading enemy networks. The USAF currently operates 5 of a planned 10 aircraft.
Lockheed U-2S “Dragon Lady.” The first U-2 took to the sky 71 years ago. Current plans call for the last example to be retired this fiscal year. Flying at 356 kts, the U-2 has a range of just under 7000 nm.
Operating above 70,000 ft, the pilot has a window of only 2 kts to keep it in the air.
It is the USAF’s only manned, strategic, long-endurance ISR platform, capable of simultaneous signals intelligence (SIGINT), imagery intelligence (IMINT), and measurement and signature intelligence (MASINT) collection at high altitudes.
Congress does not want to retire the Dragon Lady, so in 2023 it received an upgrade giving it better networking and a new radar that improves deep-look ground mapping, moving target identification, and maritime surveillance. The next improvement will extend sensor range and better onboard processing.
Pilatus U-28A EQ+ Draco. For the USAF Special Operations Command, this modified PC-12 is a crucial asset due to its ability to operate from short, unprepared runways.
The Draco carries a targeting system that guides munitions from other aircraft, and a turret equipped for full motion video and thermal imaging.
Also available are synthetic aperture radar, SIGINT equipment, and a warning system that detects incoming surface-to-air missiles (SAMs).
First deployed in 2006, 28 U-28s were still operating in Jan 2025. The USAF plans to retire them by 2029 in favor of the Air Tractor OA-1K Skyraider II.
US Army aircraft
Bombardier High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES). This militarized Global 6500 offers 18-plus hours of endurance with a ceiling of 70,000 ft. In addition to its flight crew, it carries up to 10 mission workstation operators.
HADES will carry advanced COMINT and ELINT sensors, search and rescue/synthetic aperture radar with moving target indication (MTI), and integrated electronic warfare payloads.
At such high altitudes, HADES will be able to look deep into enemy territory while remaining safely outside the range of most air defense systems. It replaces the RC-12X Guardrail enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance system (EMARSS) and Bombardier EO-5C airborne reconnaissance low-multifunction (ARL-M) aircraft. All 3 were retired last December.
The Army plans a fleet of 11 HADES aircraft, with initial deliveries expected in 2030.
COCO aircraft. Now lacking ISR jets, the Army relies on contractor-owned/contractor-operated (COCO) airplanes.
They include ARTEMIS (airborne reconnaissance and targeting exploitation multimission intelligence system) – a modified Bombardier Challenger 650 – and ARES (airborne reconnaissance and electronic warfare system) – 3 modified Global 6000/6500s with ATHENA (army theater-level high-altitude expeditionary next airborne) for radar and signals.
The aircraft are specialized for different roles.
ARTEMIS is an advanced SIGINT platform. ARES is optimized for wide-area ground surveillance and imaging, but also carries SIGINT suites and electronic-warfare equipment.
ATHENA-R (radar) uses high-end synthetic aperture radar to track moving ground targets and generate high-definition imagery at long distances.
And ATHENA-S (signals) is optimized for SIGINT and command-and-control. Its electronic-order-of-battle system inventories and maps the adversary’s radars, communications, and other emitters, showing what and where they are and how they operate.
US Navy aircraft
Boeing P-8A Poseidon. The Poseidon is the Swiss Army knife of maritime patrol and recon aircraft. A militarized 737-800, it cruises at 440 kts with a combat range of 1200 miles and 4 hours of loiter time. It is equipped with multi-mode radar, advanced airborne sensor radar that tracks moving targets, and the AN/AQS-22 advanced airborne low-frequency Sonar system with active and passive sonobuoys.
Other assets provide ELINT and an EO/IR camera for visual recon. The P-8A also carries Mark 54 torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
In mid-2025, P-8 Poseidons began receiving a radome, new antennae, a new combat systems suite with improved computer processing, wideband SATCOM, and an anti-submarine SIGINT system.
Northrop Grumman E-2C/D Hawkeye. The carrier-based Hawkeye is the Navy’s early warning and command-and-control aircraft. Twin-turboprops, the E-2C and successor E-2D cruise at about 300 kts. Without mid-air refueling (a new feature in the E-2D), it can remain in the air for more than 8 hours. Its crew consists of 2 pilots and 3 mission system operators.
The E-2D upgrades the E-2C’s rotodome to an electronically scanned array. A new wideband RF detection system can pinpoint radar and other emitters.
New electronics include a variety of tactical data links for battle management, command-and-control functions, and theater air and missile defense.
The Navy plans a fleet of 75 E-2D Hawkeyes. With continuous modernization, they are expected to remain in use into the 2040s.
Sikorsky MH-60 Seahawk. This navalized variant of the Black Hawk carries a crew of 4, including a tactical sensor operator and an acoustic sensor operator.
The Seahawk carries multi-mode radar with automatic radar periscope depth and discrimination. Also on board are forward-looking infrared (FLIR) and a laser rangefinder, the same sonar system the Poseidon uses, and an electronic support measures system.
An SRQ-4 Hawklink terminal streams sensor data to the host ship. The Seahawk also carries Mark 54 torpedoes and Hellfire missiles. A planned upgrade will add the magnetic anomaly detector-extended role (MAD-XR), which improves the Seahawk’s ability to detect submerged submarines.
The Seahawk entered service in 2006. By this January, more than 350 had been delivered. The model is expected to remain in service into the 2050s.
Owen Davies is a veteran freelance writer specializing in technology. He has been a futurist at Forecasting Inter- national and TechCast Global.