Aircraft
ARTEMIS (Aerial Reconnaissance and Targeting Exploitation Multi-Mission Intelligence System) is a US reconnaissance aircraft based on the Bombardier Challenger 650 business jet. Leidos built it for the US Army as a communications intelligence (COMINT) and electronic intelligence (ELINT) platform. The aircraft are contractor-owned and contractor-operated: Leidos maintains and flies them, while the Army receives the sensor data in real time and pays per flight hour. The first ARTEMIS deployed in July 2020, and the second, ARTEMIS II, was unveiled in December 2022. ARTEMIS flies regularly along NATO's eastern flank, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, in international or allied airspace.
The US Army is looking for a faster, higher-flying replacement for its King Air-based Guardrail (RC-12X) turboprop reconnaissance aircraft. In November 2019 it contracted Leidos to build ARTEMIS on a Bombardier Challenger 650, Defense News reports. According to Breaking Defense, it took about 18 months from concept to the first deployment in July 2020.
ARTEMIS is a technology demonstrator. Together with the other demonstrator, ARES, its data helps the Army set the requirements for the future HADES (High Altitude Detection and Exploitation System) programme, meant to replace Guardrail.
The second aircraft, ARTEMIS II, is also a Challenger 650. Leidos unveiled it on 8 December 2022 in Virginia, Washington Technology reports.
According to the US Army, sensors on these platforms relay communications intelligence and electronic intelligence. According to Washington Technology, ARTEMIS II intercepts and decodes communications with antennas and onboard computers. The aircraft is unarmed and does not enter contested airspace; it watches from a standoff distance and high altitude. Breaking Defense reports that the first ARTEMIS also has a ground-scanning radar and can be configured for different kinds of intelligence collection.
The aircraft are owned by Leidos and maintained and flown by company employees. The Army connects to the sensors remotely by satellite and pays per flight hour. According to Breaking Defense, ARTEMIS has an operational altitude of up to 41,000 ft (about 12,500 m) and can fly 4,000 nautical miles or loiter for more than 10 hours.
According to Washington Technology, the first ARTEMIS was sent to Europe in November 2021 to monitor Russian forces near the Ukrainian border. By 1 December 2022 it had flown more than 370 missions and more than 3,200 flight hours; when deployed it flies on average six days a week, 9–10 hours a day. According to the US Army, by December 2023 ARES and ARTEMIS had logged nearly 1,000 sorties combined in Europe and the Pacific.
In February 2022 Breaking Defense described a typical ARTEMIS route from Romania over Slovakia and Hungary and along Poland’s eastern and northern borders. The specialist tracking site Itamilradar followed the aircraft with registration N159L and callsign BRIO66 over the Black Sea in November 2025 and around Kaliningrad in December 2025.
On 11 November 2026 Flank spotted BRIO66 in public ADS-B data over Bulgaria’s exclusive economic zone, about 105 km from Cape Kaliakra, in international airspace.
1 primary or official5 secondary reports
U.S. Army · army.mil
Advancing Army aerial ISR through acquisition, innovationDefense News · defensenews.com
US Army deploys Artemis demonstrator to Europe, eying high-speed ISR jet capabilityBreaking Defense · breakingdefense.com
A prototype spy plane is tracking Russian force movements for the US ArmyWashington Technology · washingtontechnology.com
Inside the Army's newest spy planeAviation Week · aviationweek.com
Deployed Artemis Adds Jet To U.S. Army's ISR-collecting FleetItamilradar · itamilradar.com
Intense US surveillance activity over the Black Sea
Black Sea, Bulgarian EEZOSINT
The aircraft, callsign BRIO66, was spotted in public ADS-B data about 105 km from Cape Kaliakra. The flight was in international airspace above the Bulgarian EEZ.
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