You may have heard of the famous “Doomsday” Plane, meant to keep the government up and running even if our world has been eviscerated by nuclear hellfire since the early 1970s. Well, now it seems we’re getting a second generation of the plane to the tune of $13 billion. Who knows, maybe the Cold War will finally turn hot.
The Sierra Nevada Corp was awarded the massive contract by the U.S. Air Force to build a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch Doomsday Plane. Sadly, that isn’t its “real” name – it’ll actually be called the “Survivable Airborne Operations Center” or SAOC. Work on the SAOC will be carried out in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio, according to CPR News. The project is expected to be completed in 2036, so the Air Force is just going to need the world to hold itself together for another 12 years.
Basically, what the Sierra Nevada Corp will do is take a regular commercial jet (probably a 747-8i, but nothing is confirmed) and then militarize it to meet the Air Force’s requirements.
Here’s a little more on the backstory and purpose of the E-4B, according to Reuters:
While typically used to transport the U.S. secretary of defense, the E-4B is designed as a mobile command post capable of withstanding nuclear blasts and electromagnetic effects, allowing U.S. leaders to deliver orders to the military in the event of a national emergency.
The E-4B is also capable of refueling mid-air and features conference and briefing rooms and advanced communications equipment.
The Air Force currently operates four E-4B aircraft with at least one on alert at all times. The fleet of highly-modified Boeing 747-200 jumbo jets has become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain as parts become obsolete.
The current E-4B is expected to reach the end of its service life in the early 2030s, right around when the new plane is ready to go. Funny how that works.
