LASAI Aviation — The Whole Fleet Behind N1098L
N1098L, the US Army ISR jet that made low passes near Utah Valley University on 10 September 2025, is registered to LASAI Aviation II LLC of Manassas, Virginia. Coverage of the case has treated that as the name on one aircraft's paperwork.
It is not. The FAA registry shows LASAI Aviation LLC and LASAI Aviation II LLC holding fifteen aircraft between them. Seeing the whole fleet at once changes how the single aircraft over UVU should be read — in both directions.
The fleet, from the FAA registry
LASAI Aviation II LLC — Manassas, Virginia
| Tail | Type | Built | Serial | Cost new today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N1098L | Bombardier BD-700-1A10 (Global 6500) | 2023 | 60098 | ~$56–58M |
| N2100L | Bombardier BD-700-1A10 (Global 6500) | 2023 | 60100 | ~$56–58M |
| N9PS | Bombardier BD-700-1A10 (Global 6000) | 2012 | 9526 | ~$56–58M |
The two 2023 Globals carry consecutive-run serial numbers, 60098 and 60100 — airframes off the same production block, registered within eight weeks of each other (15 May and 10 July 2023). That is a fleet buy, not two unrelated acquisitions.
LASAI Aviation LLC — Manassas and Reston, Virginia
| Tail | Type | Built | Serial | Cost new today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N159L | Bombardier CL-600-2B16 (Challenger 650) | 2020 | 6159 | ~$32M |
| N488CR | Bombardier CL-600-2B16 (Challenger 650) | 2019 | 6140 | ~$32M |
| N291AS | Raytheon B300 (King Air 350) | 2001 | FL-332 | ~$8.4M |
| N35GA | Raytheon B300 (King Air 350) | 2004 | FL-413 | ~$8.4M |
| N405WK | Raytheon B300 (King Air 350) | 2004 | FL-405 | ~$8.4M |
| N506KB | Raytheon B300 (King Air 350) | 2006 | FL-506 | ~$8.4M |
| N828CJ | Raytheon B300 (King Air 350) | 2004 | FL-406 | ~$8.4M |
| N888FM | Raytheon B300 (King Air 350) | 2004 | FL-418 | ~$8.4M |
Six King Air 350s is the signature that matters. The B300 is the workhorse airframe of the US special-mission and airborne-ISR world — the type family behind a long line of Army and contractor surveillance aircraft. A fleet of six, held by one Virginia LLC alongside jets registered to the Army's HADES programme, is consistent with a dedicated special-mission contractor, not a charter operator.
What the fleet shape tells you
Read one way, it strengthens the ISR reading of 10 September. LASAI is not an LLC that happens to own a business jet. It is a fleet of fifteen aircraft, weighted toward the exact types used for airborne intelligence collection, based at Manassas — twenty-five miles from the Pentagon. The aircraft that flew low over UVU came from an operator whose entire fleet is built for that mission.
Read the other way, it weakens the "sent for Kirk" reading. An operator running fifteen special-mission aircraft flies constantly, all over the country, for scheduled programme reasons. A fleet that size generates flights near almost any American city on almost any day. The presence of one of its jets in Utah is far less remarkable when you know there are fifteen of them and this is what they do for a living.
Both readings are honest. Neither is settled by a registry printout, and this page does not claim to settle it. What the registry does settle is that anyone describing N1098L as an isolated aircraft has the picture wrong.
Combined fleet value
Priced as new purchases at current list: roughly $290 million of airframes, before any mission equipment. The HADES sensor package that makes a Global 6500 an intelligence platform is a separate government cost, and a far larger one.
Full pricing basis for every aircraft above is on Aircraft Costs.
Open questions
- Which of these fifteen aircraft are under US Army contract, and under which programmes?
- Were any of the King Air 350s operating in Utah in the days around 10 September 2025?
- What is the relationship between LASAI Aviation LLC and LASAI Aviation II LLC, and why is the Global/HADES fleet held in the second entity?
- Does the Reston address on the King Air registrations indicate a different contracting relationship from the Manassas jets?
A correction the registry forces
Commentary has repeated that N1098L was "previously registered N911PV." The FAA record does not support that. The deregistered N911PV was an Aurora Flight Sciences "P3 POC 1.0," serial AU-088, cancelled on 4 February 2023 — a different airframe entirely from Global 6500 serial 60098. N-numbers are recycled after cancellation, which is the likely origin of the confusion. Treat the N911PV link as unsupported.
Sources
- FAA Civil Aviation Registry, complete releasable aircraft database (
MASTER.txt,ACFTREF.txt,DEREG.txt) — https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry
Interesting In This Area
- N1098L is the fleet aircraft that flew over campus.
- N2100L is its consecutive-serial sister ship.
- ISR Program Context explains what the mission is.
- Aircraft Costs prices the whole fleet.
:::caution Legal Disclaimer Nothing on this page constitutes a finding of wrongdoing by LASAI Aviation LLC, LASAI Aviation II LLC, Leidos, the US Army, or any living person. Aircraft registration records are reproduced as public records. :::