Missile Defense Agency commits up to 499.6 million dollars to L3Harris to sustain missile-test sensor aircraft fleet through 2036
Every US missile-defense interceptor test relies on one small fleet of aircraft to confirm a kill actually happened. The Pentagon just locked that in for a decade: the Missile Defense Agency awarded L3Harris $LHX up to 499.6M dollars to keep flying its sensor jets through 2036. L
Behind every US missile-defense interceptor test sits a question that is harder to answer than it sounds: did the interceptor actually destroy its target? Confirming a hit independently requires specialized aircraft flying above the weather with electro-optic and infrared sensors trained on the intercept. In the US, that mission rests with a small fleet operated by L3Harris $LHX through its Aeromet division in Tulsa, Oklahoma: two modified Gulfstream IIB jets known as HALO-I and HALO-II, plus a converted DC-10 called the Widebody Airborne Sensor Platform for wider viewing angles. On 6 July 2026 the Missile Defense Agency awarded L3Harris an indefinite-delivery contract worth up to 499.6 million dollars to operate, maintain and upgrade these aircraft from September 2026 through September 2036. What stands out is that L3Harris was the sole bidder. A decade-long, single-source award for something as fundamental as verifying whether missile defenses work points to how concentrated and specialized this corner of the defense industrial base has become. Per US Defense Department contract records.