Nevada

US Army picks Sierra Nevada for long-range spy plane integration work

Published

2 years ago

August 22, 2024

US Army picks Sierra Nevada for long-range spy plane integration work

Sierra Nevada Corporation has won a U.S. Army contract to serve as the lead system integrator for the service’s future long-range spy plane.

The award for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System, or HADES, integration work covers a 12-year period worth $93.5 million initially and potentially up to $994.3 million, the Army announced Thursday.

Choosing a lead integrator is a major step in the service’s effort to overhaul existing fixed-wing aircraft that perform intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The service plans to retire roughly 70 aircraft – its entire ISR fleet – as it brings on the HADES aircraft that will be able to rapidly deploy and provide deep-sending capabilities.

“HADES is the centerpiece of the Army’s long-promised aerial ISR transformation strategy,” Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale, deputy chief of staff for Army intelligence (G-2), said in a statement announcing the deal. “HADES allows the Army to fly higher, faster and farther, which directly impacts our ability to see and sense deeper, delivering an organic capability in line with the Secretary of the Army’s number-one operational imperative – deep sensing.”

For the first time, the Army is using a large-cabin business jet – the Bombardier Global 6500 – to serve as the airframe for the spy plane. The service awarded Bombardier a contract in December for one aircraft, with an option to buy two more over a three-year period.

A L3Harris Technologies, MAG Aerospace and Leidos team was competing against Sierra Nevada for the integration contract. All four companies are involved in ISR fixed-wing prototype efforts with the Army.

The Army has spent more than five years assessing ISR fixed-wing prototypes using high-speed jets to inform the HADES program. It began with the deployment of Artemis – or Airborne Reconnaissance and Target Exploitation Multi-mission System – which has flown in the European theater near the Ukrainian border. Leidos built Artemis using a Bombardier Challenger 650 jet.

Then the service deployed Ares – or Airborne Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare System – to the Pacific region in April 2022. L3Harris built the aircraft using a Bombardier Global Express 6500 jet.

Combined, Artemis and Ares had flown more than 1,000 sorties by April this year, according to Andrew Evans, who leads the Army’s ISR Task Force. They fly roughly 10-hour missions and average 20 sorties a month, he added.

The Army is also preparing to take on four more prototypes that will inform the requirements for the HADES program. The service chose a pair of companies to deliver two jets each with spy technologies to advance long-range targeting plans.

MAG Aerospace and L3Harris will outfit a Global 6500 with ISR sensors for the Army’s radar-focused Athena-R effort.

And Sierra Nevada is providing its RAPCON-X, based on a converted Bombardier business jet, for the service’s signals intelligence-focused Athena-S project.

Now that the Army has picked a team to integrate sensors onto the jet, the process will take 18 months before the aircraft can deploy for a user assessment, the Army has estimated. That assessment moves the aircraft from a controlled test environment in the United States to operational environments to stress test the systems.

The Army will deploy HADES for a limited period of time and then start building more aircraft as the early prototype remains deployed.

The service plans to field 14 HADES aircraft by 2035, according to a slide Maj. Gen. Wally Rugen, then-director of Army aviation, displayed during a speech at the Army Aviation Association of America’s annual conference in Denver in April.

While industry officials said they anticipate the Army will continue to award the same team subsequent contracts to build all of the HADES aircraft, Andrew Evans, who leads the Army’s ISR Task Force, noted earlier this year that “the guidance to our acquisition teammates was to ensure that we give ourselves as much flexibility as possible in the process.”

Using 70 “very capable” Beechcraft King Air and De Havilland Canada Dash-8 aircraft, the Army, “has done some enormous and powerful work in support of the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan” Evans said. But the existing fleet won’t be able to fulfill long-range missions off the coast of China — which the U.S. government considers its top threat — “or really almost any other place in the world if you’re talking about extended geographic ranges with limited basing and access,” he added.

Jen Judson is an award-winning journalist covering land warfare for Defense News. She has also worked for Politico and Inside Defense. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Boston University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College.

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Nevada

Liberty vs Nevada Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today’s NIT Tournament Game

Published

9 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Liberty vs Nevada Prediction, Picks & Odds for Today’s NIT Tournament Game

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The Nevada Wolfpack look to stay hot when they welcome the Liberty Flames on Saturday night in the second round of the NIT.

Vaughn Weems has been dominant of late for the Wolfpack, and my Liberty vs. Nevada predictions explain why he’s poised to have another big game.

Read on for my college basketball picks for Saturday, March 21.

Liberty vs Nevada prediction

Who will win Liberty vs Nevada?

Nevada: The Wolfpack are 16-2 at home this season, with nine wins in a row following the 14-point victory over Murray State. Liberty’s defense has been nearly non-existent in its last 10 games, and lost four of its last seven games — with all four defeats coming against Quad-3 and Quad-4 opponents. Nevada’s superior size and dominance on the glass will offset Liberty’s ability to score.

Liberty vs Nevada best bet: Vaughn Weems Over 15.5 points (+100)

Vaughn Weems is primed to have a big game against the Liberty Flames. He’s averaging 16.6 points over his last eight games, and has made seven baskets at the rim in each of his last two.

That will likely be his primary focus against a Liberty team whose starting lineup averages a hair over 6-foot-2 and struggles to rebound.

Weems has four offensive boards in the last two contests, leading to second-chance points and FT attempts.

This is a perfect spot for him to continue to assert himself and get whatever he wants at the rim.

Covers

COVERS INTEL:

The Flames have allowed a staggering 118 close-range baskets over their last seven games.

Liberty vs Nevada same-game parlay

Liberty’s defensive struggles will be exacerbated by the Nevada Wolf Pack’s outside shooting.

The Wolfpack rank 54th in the country in 3-point accuracy, bad news for a Liberty defense allowing opponents to hit better than 38% from deep. Add in Nevada’s height advantage, and it’s a spot where the Flames will fail to cover for the ninth time in 11 games.

Both teams have been clearing their recent totals. The Over is 12-6 in Nevada’s last 18, while the Over has cashed in 10 of 13 for Liberty.

Liberty vs Nevada SGP

Our beyond the arc SGP: The Weems and Price show

Elijah Price pulled down 13 rebounds in the win over Murray State and leads the Wolfpack with 8.4 boards per game.

This ties into the same narrative I’ve discussed with the interior defense and height issues on the Liberty side. Price hasn’t hit double-digit scoring in four straight games in part because he can’t stay out of foul trouble.

Liberty shoots a lot of outside efforts and doesn’t draw fouls at a high rate. Extra minutes for Price will lead to elevated scoring, and I expect he’ll flirt with a double-double.

Liberty vs Nevada SGP

Vaughn Weems Over 15.5 points
Elijah Price Over 11.5 points
Vaughn Weems Over 5.5 rebounds
Elijah Price Over 8.5 rebounds

Liberty vs Nevada odds

Spread: Liberty +7.5 | Nevada -7.5
Moneyline: Liberty +300 | Nevada -400
Over/Under: Over 146 | Under 146

Liberty vs Nevada betting trend to know

Liberty has hit the Over in 10 of their last 13 games (+6.70 Units / 47% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Liberty vs. Nevada.

How to watch Liberty vs Nevada

Location	Lawlor Events Center, Reno, NV
Date	Saturday, March 21, 2026
Tip-off Advertisement	9:00 p.m. ET
TV	ESPN+

Liberty vs Nevada key injuries

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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Nevada

Nevada pastor William O’Neill McCurdy Sr. dies at 75, family says

Published

21 hours ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Nevada pastor William O’Neill McCurdy Sr. dies at 75, family says

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — William O’Neill McCurdy Sr., a longtime Nevada pastor, entrepreneur and influential community figure with decades of civic and political ties across the state, has died, his family announced.

McCurdy Sr., the father of Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy II, passed away Friday. His family says he was surrounded by family and loved ones, and was “held high by the thoughts and prayers from all those who cared about him throughout our community.”

Born in 1950, McCurdy Sr. graduated from Valley High School and attended Western Nevada College in Carson City. He served as a pastor in Nevada beginning in 1978.

Although he never held public office, McCurdy Sr. was described as a significant influence in the community and in Nevada politics dating back to Grant Sawyer, with connections spanning governors, senators and judges statewide.

McCurdy Sr. was an entrepreneur and a former constable for the Las Vegas Township. He served on numerous boards and committees, including the Citizens’ Advisory for Regional Transportation, Habitat for Humanity’s board of directors, the Mineral County Economic Advisory Committee, the City of Las Communities Block Grant Advisory Board and as a Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority commissioner.

He was named a Distinguished Nevadan by the Nevada System of Higher Education in 2021 and became an inaugural inductee into Historic Westside Legacy Park in 2022.

McCurdy Sr. was the owner of McCurdy & McCurdy Media Group, a business he and his wife, Billie, built beginning in 1992. The family has been a fixture on the Historic Westside and in Nevada for more than seven decades.

The family described McCurdy Sr. as “a husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, pastor, mentor, and friend.”

The McCurdy family also expressed gratitude to the medical staff at University Medical Center, particularly the UMC Critical Care Team, citing their “professionalism, grace, and compassion” during McCurdy’s final days.

The family thanked the community for its thoughts and prayers.

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Nevada

How to watch Nevada basketball vs. Liberty in second round of NIT

Published

1 day ago

March 20, 2026

Press Room

How to watch Nevada basketball vs. Liberty in second round of NIT

Nevada will try to advance to the quarterfinals of the NIT when the Wolf Pack hosts Liberty in a second-round NIT men’s basketball game on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center.

Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.

Nevada got a huge second-half effort to beat Murray State, 89-75, on Wednesday in a first-round game.

The winner of the Nevada-Liberty game will face the winner of the Auburn-Seattle University game (3:30 p.m. Sunday; TV- ESPN2).

If Auburn wins Sunday, the No. 1 seed Tigers would host a quarterfinal game on either Tuesday or Wednesday. If Auburn loses to Seattle U on Sunday, and No. 2 seed Nevada wins, the Wolf Pack could host the quarterfinal game.

How to watch Nevada vs. Liberty

Liberty (26-7; 17-3 CUSA) at Nevada (23-12; 12-8 MW)

When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Lawlor Events Center
TV/Stream: ESPN-Plus (Play-by-play Derek Jones; Analyst: John Williams)
Radio: 95.5 KNEV (Play-by-play: John Ramey; Analyst: Nick Fazekas)
Tickets: nevadawolfpack.evenue.net
Line: Nevada favored by 7.5

Last time out

Nevada beat Murray State 89-75 on Wednesday to advance.

As a team, the Pack shot 51 percent from the field, 33 percent from three, and 89 percent from the free-throw line. Vaughn Weems led the Pack offense with 23 points, and grabbing five rebounds. Corey Camper Jr. scored 17 points and was one rebound short of a career high with eight.

Elijah Price led the Wolf Pack with 13 rebounds, 12 on the defensive end. He also had three steals, while Kaleb Lowery had two.

Nevada had just five turnovers while forcing 15 from the Racers, and outscored Murray State in points off turnovers (24-5), points in the paint (44-28), second-chance points (12-9) and fast-break points (17-9).

This is the first meeting between the Nevada Wolf Pack and the Liberty Flames.

Liberty finished 17-3 in Conference USA regular season, earning the outright regular season title in the league for a second straight year.

Zach Cleveland earned Conference USA Player of the Year, while head coach Ritchie McKay garnered CUSA Coach of the Year, along with four total All-CUSA performers and an All-Defensive team member.

Alford: Crowd was into it and really loud in win over Murray State

Nevada basketball coach Steve Alford says the crowd was a big factor in Wednesday’s win over Murray State in the NIT

About Liberty

Nevada head coach Steve Alford said Liberty should have received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. The Flames won Conference USA’s regular season by three games.

“We know we have a really, really good basketball team coming in here Saturday,” Alford said. “We’ve got a really tough matchup with Liberty.”

Liberty broke a tie game with 1:18 left to beat George Mason 77-71 on Tuesday in their first-round NIT game.

The game was tied at 67 with 1:18 to play in the game, but the Flames scored 10 of the next 12 points to close out their second-ever NIT victory and second victory over an A-10 foe this season.

Liberty improved to 26-7 overall. It was the Flames’ 11th road win of the year.

For Liberty in Tuesday’s win, Josh Smith, making his first start since Dec. 16, turned in his best performance in a Flames jersey with a season-high 23 points along with nine rebounds. Smith was 7-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point territory and 7-of-8 from the foul line. Brett Decker Jr. added 17 points, and Zander Carter notched career highs in points (10) and rebounds (6).

The Flames average 78.1 points per game while Nevada averages 76.3.

The Flames average 10,6 3-pointers per game while the Wolf Pack averages 6.6

Liberty University is a private, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, founded in 1971.

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