Bombardier announced on May 26, 2026, that it will provide three Global 6500 aircraft to Washington-based defense contractor Metrea, which will operate them on maritime surveillance missions for the Australian Border Force. The Canadian manufacturer did not disclose the value of the order.
The award marks a further expansion of Bombardier’s defense business in the Asia-Pacific region, where its airframes are increasingly used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) work. Bombardier’s defense unit crossed the US$1 billion revenue threshold for the first time in 2025, on the back of US, Canadian and European orders.
A growing missionized Global 6500 fleet
The Global 6500 has become one of the reference platforms for fixed-wing ISR conversions. The aircraft offers a 6,600 nautical mile range, a top speed of Mach 0.9 and an operating ceiling of 51,000 feet, characteristics that suit standoff sensing and long maritime patrol legs.
Bombardier has now configured more than 500 of its business jets for special missions, including airborne early warning and control, signals intelligence and maritime patrol. The Global 6500 in particular has been picked by the US Army for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES) program, and by the Royal Canadian Air Force, which ordered six multi-role examples in December 2025. The same airframe also forms the basis of Saab’s GlobalEye, recently selected by NATO to replace the alliance’s E-3 Sentry fleet, and ordered by France in late 2025.
Effects-as-a-service for Canberra
Metrea, headquartered in Washington DC with facilities in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, will deliver the surveillance flights under a contract with Australia’s Department of Home Affairs. The company describes its model as “effects-as-a-service”, under which it owns, modifies and operates aircraft on behalf of government customers. Metrea says it has logged more than 170,000 hours of crewed airborne ISR operations across Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.
The Australian Border Force uses fixed-wing aircraft to monitor approaches to a coastline of more than 35,000 km, with mission sets covering illegal fishing, irregular maritime arrivals and smuggling. The Global 6500s will join a growing pool of business jet-derived assets in Australia, after Principle Finance ordered two Bombardier Challenger 650 ISR aircraft in March 2025.