[GV] SPECIAL MISSION G550 OVERVIEW
On July 1, 2021, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced it had delivered the final commercial Gulfstream G550 to an international customer, increasing the worldwide fleet to 631. The delivery took place June 30, 2021, as VP-CBK (c/n: 5628). But now, about 1,5 years in the future, deliveries of the G550 are not finished at all. Various military special mission aircraft are still to be fitted-out and delivered e.g., the ordered Australian MC-55 Peregrine (total of 4), the American EC-37B Compass Call (total of 10) and the ISR examples for Morocco (total of 4). Of the last 100 G550 airframes built over 30 are delivered or reserved as Special Mission Aircraft. This shows the great value of the G550 airframe for all kind of missions outside the ‘normal’ VIP role. An overview list was compiled by Gulfbiz.nl (and thanks to Jim) to give the current situation regarding these aircraft. Not all details are clear but various reports and logs give some insight in the current status. Click here or on the picture above for the overview and more details.
[GV] ISR - ALGERIA
In 2016 the Algeria government / Air Force signed a 1.1 billion deal with Raytheon for three intelligence surveillance
and reconnaissance (ISR)-configured Gulfstream 550s. Since then, the progress made on integrating new systems on the business jets is unclear. Is the deal still in place? Is
Algeria looking at other options? Are the aircraft still located at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City (OK) (they were noted in 2020)? Will they be sold to other Air Forces? All
registrations (N543RN, N546RN, N550RN) of the 3 G550 airframes are cancelled. Click on the picture above for all the current details.
[GV] NC-37B
In 2016 the US Navy ordered a single Gulfstream G550 business jet based on the special-mission Israeli airborne early warning type for adaptation into a long-range, high-speed test range support aircraft. A navy contract notification published on 18 March 2016, US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) paid $91.9 million for a green aircraft, designated NC-37B, with air vehicle modifications for airborne early warning. Clicking the picture gives the full details.
[GV] TANKER
In 2007 IAI and Gulfstream considered a multirole tanker version of the G550 equipped with an underbelly gondola-type fuel tank. The removable tank would allow the use of the aircraft for passengers, special missions or aerial refueling. This version would provide a flexible solution to countries that could not afford to operate a dedicated fleet of tankers. The market potential was evaluated but the program went not ahead.
[GV] JAPAN CG
[GV] RQ-37 BAMS
The Boeing BAMS proposal was based on the Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation RQ-37 BAMS proposal. Gulfstream have been slow to enter the UAV market and rather than risk the costs associated with developing a completely new UAV to compete for the BAMS UAV contract, instead they proposed an unmanned version of their successful G550 long-range business jet known as the RQ-37. Read more about the BAMS project, RQ-37 and the GII BAMS testbed by clicking on the picture above.
[GV] C4ISTAR
Italy is to acquire a Gulfstream G550 based special mission aircraft under plans revealed in the countries latest multiyear plan (2020-2022). The plan released on
23 October 2020 disclosed that the C4ISTAR (Command, Control, Communications, Computer information / Intelligence, Surveillance and TARgeting) aircraft will be developed over a
series of tranches from 2021 through to 2032. The programme relates to a multi-mission system based on Gulfstreams G550 aerial platform equipped with modern sensors for strategic information
collection and electronic superiority, suitable for integration into a net-centric architecture of C4ISTAR for real-time sharing of information. Click here for details.
[GV] EC-37B
A total of 10 G550 EC-37B Compass Call aircraft are planned to be acquired by the USAF. Some airframes have in recent years already been noted at Savannah
(GA) and Brunswick (GA). In August 2022 it was reported that 5 aircraft already were in production at that time. These most probably are c/n: 5567, 5579, 5591, 5602 and 5612.
N591GA (c/n 5591) visited Davis Monthan Air Force Base in August 2022. This to give the unit that will operate the aircraft (55th Electronic Combat Group) the opportunity to check out the
aircraft. Based on the G550 production overview, and the open spots in that list with airframes that are still registered with a Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation test-reg, some 4 more EC-37’s
could therefore be c/n: 5608, 5618, 5622 and 5626. Click on the picture.
[GV] JSTARS - USAF
Northrop Grumman settled on a Gulfstream G550 business jet proposal for the U.S. Air Force’s JSTARS Recap competition (replacement of the E-8 JSTARS inventory), and submitted its bid to the service on March 2, 2017. Click on the picture for details.
[GV] HALO
The High Altitude and LOng Range (HALO) Research Aircraft (based on a Gulfstream G550) is the research aircraft for atmospheric research and earth observation of the German science community. HALO was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft and the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft. The aircraft is operated by the Flight Experiments facility of DLR. Click the picture for more details.
[GV] CAEW - AMI
[GV] VIP - POLAND
[GV] VIP - MEXICAN NAVY
[GV] CAEW/SIGINT - ISRAELI AIR FORCE
The Israeli Air Force (IAF) operates three types of modified Gulfstream Special Mission aircraft based on the Gulfstream V and Gulfstream G550 airframes. Click the picture for an introduction.