The US Air Force has awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation SNC a $13 billion contract to develop a new Advanced Airborne Command Post AACP aircraft to replace its ageing E-4B aircraft fleet.
The Boeing E-4 AACP, known as the current “Nightwatch” aircraft, is a strategic command and control military aircraft flown by the United States Air Force. The E-4 series is a customised Boeing 747-200B modification for the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) programme.
The E-4 operates as a mobile command post for the National Command Authority, which includes the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defence, and their successors. The 1st Airborne Command and Control Squadron of the 595th Command and Control Group, based at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska, operates the four E-4B aircraft. When in action, an E-4B is referred to as a “National Airborne Operations Centre” known as the “Doomsday plane”.
This decision comes after Boeing was excluded from the program late last year.
Known as the Airborne Operations Centre (SAOC), the new aircraft is intended to modernise the capabilities of the US Air Force in the event of a national emergency.
The project is expected to take at least a decade to complete.
SNC to Develop Doomsday Aircraft with a $13 billion contract
