Bombardier's Challenger 650 keeps winning medevac work. What happens to the Learjets?

Special-mission work continues to prop up values across Bombardier's large-cabin lineup, and a new German medevac order shows why. At the ILA Berlin air show on Wednesday, Bombardier Defense announced that Nuremberg-based operator Aero-Dienst GmbH has signed for a second medevac-configured Challenger 650 to support ADAC's patient repatriation and air ambulance services.It is the operator's second Challenger 650, following an initial order in 2024, and it layers more long-range capability onto an ambulance fleet that still runs two Learjet 60XRs and two Dornier 328Jets. That raises a question worth watching: as more operators step up to large-cabin jets for medical missions, could the midsize Learjets they have long relied on start filtering into the pre-owned market? Why ADAC keeps reaching for the Challenger The new aircraft will join Aero-Dienst's medevac operations and is planned to support ADAC's patient repatriation and air ambulance services. Bombardier positions the Challenger 605 and 650 as the leading choice for air ambulance and medical evacuation work, citing dispatch reliability above 99.9%. The cabin and passenger door are large enough to load up to four stretchers while keeping a stable environment for patients and medical crew. Dr. Oliver Kosing, managing director of Aero-Dienst, said the Challenger 650's advanced intensive care equipment and cabin space make it well suited to the operator's medical requirements. Bombardier already has a deep special-mission footprint in Germany. The German Air Force flies its Global jets for both medevac and head-of-state transport, and the airframer counts a long list of German suppliers across its programs. The Learjet question Special-mission demand may be acting as a quiet price support for the Challenger line. Learjets have long been a mainstay of the medevac fleet, but production of the 60XR version ended in 2013, and as the airframes enter midlife, operators likely are starting to consider what comes next. A Challenger is not a direct replacement. It is a larger, longer-range airplane in a different cabin class, so any effect on Learjet supply would be indirect. Still, it is reasonable to wonder whether more Learjets start filtering into the used market as operators move up.