In the News: Job Of Building The Air Force’s Next Doomsday Planes Falls To Sierra Nevada Corp.
The War Zone, April 27, 2024 - The U.S. Air Force has awarded the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) a contract valued at more than $13 billion to deliver a fleet of highly specialized Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) aircraft. These planes will help ensure the President and other senior military officials can perform their duties, including directing nuclear strikes, no matter what, and are set to succeed the service's aging Boeing 747-200-based E-4B Nightwatch ‘doomsday planes.’ SNC had been widely expected to win this deal after incumbent Boeing dropped out last year.
SNC's contract award for what is formally known as the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) program, which includes incentives, is valued at $13,080,890,647, according to a daily notice from the Pentagon. It's unclear how many total SAOCs the Air Force plans to buy. The service only has four E-4Bs in service now, but there has been talk of its acquiring between eight and 10 SAOCs in the past. The War Zone has reached out to the Air Force and SNC for more information.
