Special missions are the stuff of which military heroes and edge-of-the-seat Hollywood blockbusters are made. There is something rather thrilling about a small band of dedicated and determined fighters venturing deep into hostile territory to execute a mission of critical importance, seemingly unmindful of their chances of ever making it back to safety.

The truth is a little more mundane. ‘Special Missions’ are merely missions that are specific to the tasks assigned. While daring clandestine raids are sometimes undertaken by special operations units, there are many other monotonous tasks like keeping an area of the high seas under surveillance or gathering electronic intelligence from across the border that are routinely carried out, night and day, in complete safety. These too are classified as special missions. This is how the United States Military’s Joint Publication 3-05 ‘Special Operations’ of July 2014 puts it: “Special operations require unique modes of employment, tactics, techniques, procedures, and equipment. They are often conducted in hostile, denied, or politically and/or diplomatically sensitive environments, and are characterised by one or more of the following: time sensitivity, clandestine or covert nature, low visibility, work with or through indigenous forces, greater requirements for regional orientation and cultural expertise, and a higher degree of risk.”

Every significant country in the world operates Special Forces or special mission units. Depending on the scope of the mission, such forces may be cobbled together from various specialist agencies that are task-organised to perform highly classified activities. The Americans lay great store by special operations and since April 1987 have a unified combatant command known as the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). It has permanently assigned special missions units like the US Army’s well-known Delta Force and the US Navy’s SEAL Team Six. These have been involved in dramatic airborne missions like the December 2003 capture of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and the May 2011 elimination of Osama bin Laden in a CIA-led operation deep inside Pakistani territory.

The Indian Army too has the Para (Special Forces) unit of its Parachute Regiment, the Navy has MARCOS and the Indian Air Force (IAF) has the Garud Commando Force. These elite forces are trained for special mission tasks and may be used at short notice in emergent situations. But irrespective of which service mounts the mission the equation almost invariably includes aircraft – fixed-wing, rotary-wing, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) – especially when time-sensitivity and distance are key factors. Indeed, airborne platforms afford unmatched speed, flexibility and responsiveness and offer commanders a variety of scalable options to choose from in complex situations.

Aircraft Everywhere

Special mission roles of particular interest in air operations include airborne early warning (AEW), maritime patrol (MP), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), electronic/signals intelligence (ELINT/SIGINT), search and rescue (SAR) and air ambulance services among others. Clearly many special mission roles overlap with those of force multipliers and the associated platforms add up to a significant segment of the global military aircraft fleet.

WITH MODERN SPECIAL MISSION AIRCRAFT, THE FOCUS IS INCREASINGLY ON MIDSIZED BUSINESS AIRCRAFT AS WELL AS REGIONAL JETS MODIFIED TO MEET SPECIFIC MILITARY NEEDS

For instance, the IAF has six IL-78MKI flight refuelling aircraft (FRA) and intends to acquire another six Airbus A330 multirole tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft. For the AEW role it has three Phalcon AWACS consisting of the ELTA ELW-2090 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar mounted on a Russian IL-76 A-50 four-engine jet. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also developing a much smaller airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system using the Embraer EMB-145i regional twinjet. The IAF already has five Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft customised for special operations, and is acquiring another six. It is also striving to enhance its electronic warfare (EW) capabilities with specialised aircraft. And the clandestine Aviation Research Centre (ARC), which is an arm of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), operates at least two Bombardier Global 5000 long-range business jets that have been modified for ISR and other special missions.

Indeed, when it comes to modern special mission aircraft, the focus is increasingly on midsized business aircraft as well as regional jets modified to meet specific military needs.

Back to Business

Business aircraft deployed in special mission roles have several advantages over large legacy aircraft like the Boeing E-3 Sentry Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft and the Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS, both of which are based on the four-engine Boeing 707 commercial jet. Business jets as well as turboprops offer lower acquisition cost, proven performance, inherent reliability and superior fuel economy, resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs. Their off the-shelf availability means that the military customer need not build a dedicated platform from scratch and can instead focus on how best to pack a ready aircraft with specialised equipment. Once the user’s mission parameters are defined, the necessary aircraft modification and installation of state-of-the-art systems can be tailored to meet specified needs.

Modifying and employing a regional or business aircraft for special missions is not a new concept, but one that has evolved over the years. In the 1980s, Sweden found the Boeing E-3 AWACS unaffordable, so Ericsson simply installed an AESA radar on a Saab 340 commuter twin-turboprop, akin to a regional aircraft, to build a ‘poor man’s AWACS’. And although it is over 30 years since Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation started selling bare-bones ISR-modified business aircraft, today’s highend Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) EL/W-2085 multi-band conformal airborne early warning (CAEW) radar system is also built on the Gulfstream G550 platform.

The large-cabin, ultra-long-range G550 powered by twin Rolls-Royce BR710 turbofan engines has a range of 6,750 nautical miles, a maximum cruising speed of Mach 0.885 and a maximum cruising altitude of 51,000 feet. It can take 14 to 18 passengers depending on its cabin configuration. Gulfstream now concentrates on offering the G550 and other large-cabin business jets to meet special mission requirements for military and government agencies around the globe. Nearly 40 countries operate about 200 Gulfstream aircraft for special mission applications.

For its part, Bombardier Aerospace has delivered over 300 special mission aircraft to 35 countries, each one modified with fully integrated packages to meet specific demands of individual customers. These packages include radar, forward-looking infrared (FLIR), electronic counter-measures (ECM) and secure communication systems. The company offers a wide selection of proven highperformance special mission platforms ranging from light and ultra-long-range jets to turboprops and amphibians. Bombardier’s ‘special mission veterans’ include the Global 6000 and Global 5000, the Challenger 300, 605 and 800 Series, the Learjet 60XR, 70 and 75 and the Q Series turboprops.

Kings of the Air

Try putting ‘business aircraft’ and ‘special missions’ together and the most likely answer would be the twin-turboprop Beechcraft King Air. The King Air for many years has proved to be one of the most popular and long-lasting light business aircraft on the market, probably because Beechcraft continuously improves upon the original highly successful, simple and sturdy design. Indeed, Beechcraft’s efforts have resulted in a mind-boggling array of models and designations that even an expert might find hard to decipher. Besides, even some very similar types have been given different designations by the US Air Force (USAF) that now counts the King Air as its second most common air transport, with nearly 300 aircraft in service. The King Air 350 and other models are used for air transport (as the C-12 Huron), for EW (as the RC-12) and for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) operations (as the MC-12W). The USAF also has a specialised EW version called Ceasar (Communications Electronic Attack with Surveillance and Reconnaissance). It is crammed with electronic sensors, jammers, radios and cameras that can help ground commanders eavesdrop for hours on enemy walkie-talkie and cell phone conversations. It can pinpoint their locations and even provide immediate translation.

The MC-12W Liberty is an ISR special mission aircraft of the USAF. It is an enhanced version of the King Air 350 and offers six hours of flight time. It also comes in the King Air 350ER variant that provides more than eight hours in the air. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60A engines, each producing 1,050 hp. This variant has enough flexibility to fly low and slow or cruise at 300 knots and 35,000 feet, depending on the specific mission. No other aircraft in its class matches its performance. Meanwhile, the US Army too is in the process of building 24 special mission systems using Beechcraft King Air 350ERs. Its enhanced medium altitude reconnaissance and surveillance system (EMARSS) is a low-risk, low-cost ISR aircraft built by a Boeing-led team on the King Air platform.

The King Air has six to 12 seats (depending on configuration and role) in a spacious, comfortable cabin. It is reportedly fun to fly and has excellent fuel efficiency. Perhaps more importantly, it is a trustworthy and reliable aircraft with a spectacular safety record. The current offerings include four main models: the King Air 90GTx, 250, 350i and 350ER. Various King Air models like the 350iER (Extended Range) are used for intelligence gathering, EW, aerial survey and surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance, apart from basic transportation.

King Air machines are equally popular with government, military and commercial customers – proved by the fact that there are over 7,400 Beechcraft King Air produced and still in production today, and 60 million flight hours have been flown globally. However, Beechcraft has been on something of an economic roller-coaster and is now a subsidiary of Textron Aviation. Textron, founded in 2014, specialises in the general aviation business and sells iconic business aviation aircraft of the Beechcraft, Cessna, and Hawker brands.

Business Aircraft Fly High

Clearly military customers everywhere are increasingly deciding that business aircraft are especially suitable for special mission roles and can significantly reduce acquisition, operation and maintenance costs. Air forces can even buy preowned King Airs and convert them in order to reduce costs. Indeed, customisation is a basic ingredient of the process of converting a business platform to special mission applications and a considerable amount of time, effort and cost may go into creating a one-of-a-kind machine – which is what the buyer often wants.

Even the USAF, due to replace its ageing fleet of 16 Boeing 707 JSTARS, is looking for more cost-effective options and a business jet may be the best solution. Two contenders are the Lockheed Martin/Gulfstream G550 and the Northrop Grumman/Raytheon/Bombardier Global 6000 jet. Troy Miller of Gulfstream Aerospace says, “Our team feels we can [provide] a platform that is much more reliable, has much lower operating costs and requires far fewer people to operate.” This neatly sums up the advantages of a business jet. Boeing itself is in the running with a modified version of its 737-700 commercial airliner. Being the incumbent it perhaps fancies its chances in the contest which is expected to be decided by late 2017. However, with two capable business jets providing strong competition, it may be unwise to bet on Boeing.