US military says multipurpose jet being used for Gaza airdrops

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US military said Monday that it is using a cutting edge aerial communications platform to aid its ongoing airdrops of humanitarian assistance within the besieged Gaza Strip.

The E-11A aircraft is equipped with the Battlefield Airborne Communication Node (BACN), which "acts as a communication relay and gateway system, facilitating information exchange and enhancing operations' versatility and effectiveness," the US Air Forces Central (USAFC) said on the military's DVIDS website.

The E-11A is a business jet manufactured by Bombadier that has been modified to carry the BACN system. The aircraft was orignally built for operations during the US invasion of Afghanistan, and is designed to enable "theater-wide communication and data link extension capabilities."

The BACN system "translates and distributes imagery, voice and tactical data from disparate elements — enhancing situational awareness and enabling seamless interoperability for joint and coalition forces operating across air, space, land and sea," according to the website of Northrop Gruman, which manufactures the system.

The plane has been used in Gaza since March, according to Air Forces Central.

"As the E-11 was repurposed post-Afghanistan, it has now been providing behind-the-scenes support to U.S. partners & allies facilitating airdrops in Gaza," it said.

"The BACN ensured mission success by consolidating critical data from different sources for seamless coordination. Since March 2024, the E-11 has aided humanitarian assistance in Gaza by ensuring all air assets deliver aid promptly, totaling more than 2.3 million pounds," it added.

- Gaza pier

The public confirmation about the E-11A's use over Gaza comes as the US military announced earlier Monday that is once again pausing its operations at a temporary pier meant to facilitate humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza.

"United States Central Command (U.S. CENTCOM) personnel continue to support the multinational, USAID-led mission to deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians. DOD operations have continued uninterrupted since re-anchoring the temporary pier to the beach in Gaza on June 19," Central Command said in a statement on X.

It was referring to the resumption of operations after the Joint Logistics, Over-the-Shore Trident pier broke apart in rough seas in the eastern Mediterranean in late May when several American support ships also became beached on the Gaza and Israeli coastlines.

US authorities downgraded the official price tag for the temporary pier shortly after the debacle, trimming off $90 million from the official estimate, and putting it at $230 million.

The US military has assessed that some 6,206 metric tons of aid has transited the pier since it became operational May 17. CENTCOM said that material was transported to what it calls "the marshaling area" for collection by "humanitarian organizations for onward distribution."

"This humanitarian operation is made possible by our continued partnership with the United Nations and many international and regional partners," it said.

Those international partners, however, have continued to warn that they are unable to move that aid on for forward distribution due to security concerns prompted by Israel's ongoing war.

The World Food Programme, the UN's main food assistance agency that is principally responsible for distributing aid from the marshalling area, "temproarily" paused its operations June 10 amid an ongoing security review caused by an Israeli rescue operation that freed four hostages, but killed nearly 300 Palestinians.

Two WFP warehouses were struck by rocket fire during the attack.