In the News: Sierra Nevada wins $13B contract to build Air Force ‘doomsday plane’
DefenseNews.com, April 26, 2024 - The Department of the Air Force on Friday said it awarded Sierra Nevada Corp. a $13 billion contract to replace the service’s aging E-4B Nightwatch “doomsday planes” that would fly during a nuclear war.
The company will develop and produce the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, the name for the aircraft that will succeed the E-4B, and is expected to finish the work by July 10, 2036. The Air Force is obligating $59 million in research, development, test and evaluation funds to Sierra Nevada to start work on SAOC right away.
