The Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) won a $170 million contract to deliver two of its RAPCON-X jets to the Finland Border Guard under the country’s MVX program, the company said Thursday.
RAPCON-X is SNC’s new aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (AISR) jet, which in this configuration is a modified
Bombardier Challenger 650 jet.
SNC said in this case the aircraft will be tailored to the Finnish Border Guard’s MVX specifications, which provides for a modernized and dramatically increased capability to their fixed-wing fleet.
The company argued this new aircraft will “significantly improve” Finland’s border security and monitoring of territorial integrity, with a focus on the eastern border with Russia. This replaces the legacy Dornier 228 surveillance aircraft.
“SNC is honored to be a trusted partner to the Finnish Border Guard at this critical time in Europe. The rapidly configurable nature of RAPCON-X increases interoperability across Finland’s national security infrastructure – as well as NATO – and sets the Finnish Border Guard up for mission success now and in the future,” Tim Owings, executive vice president of SNC’s Mission Solutions and Technologies business area, said in a statement.
“The new surveillance aircraft will significantly increase Finland’s capability in border security and maritime security tasks, which is important in our difficult-to-predict security environment,” Maj. Gen. Matti Sarasmaa, Finland Chief of Border and Coast Guard Division, said in a statement.
The company also argued RAPCON-X will provide improved range, and endurance, capability, interoperability and upgradeability for 30 years.
The contract signing was held in Helsinki, Finland on June 27 and the two aircraft deliveries are expected in 2026 and 2027.
Last year, SNC won the U.S. Army’s contractor-owned ATHENA-S intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft contract with its RAPCON-X offering. ATHENA-S itself is meant to serve as a bridge to help inform final requirements for the service’s future High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) aerial ISR program of record (Defense Daily, Oct. 10, 2023)