Sierra Nevada Group, the company that won the bid to replace the US E-4B `Doomsday` command aircraft fleet, confirmed on May 10 that it had just acquired 5 Boeing 747s from the Korean national airline Korean Air.
Previously, Korean Air announced a contract to sell 5 Boeing 747-800s to Sierra Nevada for a total value of 675 million USD.
An E-4B aircraft flew over Offutt base in Nebraska in 2009. Photo: USAF
CNN said Sierra Nevada acquired these aircraft to serve the project to replace the US E-4B Nightwatch Survivable Air Command Center (SAOC) fleet.
Converting the Boeing 747-800 into a `Doomsday` aircraft will be a significant upgrade to the current E-4B Nightwatch fleet, which was built in the 1970s based on the body of the Boeing 747-200 series.
The E-4B Nightwatch fleet is currently nearing the end of its operational life.
Details of the SAOC’s configuration were not announced, but the US Air Force said that they will be based on civilian aircraft reinforced and adapted to meet military requirements.
Korean Air’s Boeing 747-800 lands at Fiumicino Airport, in Rome, Italy.
This is considered an emergency plan to help America’s highest political and military leaders survive a nuclear attack.
At any given time, America always has a `Doomsday` plane operating in the sky.
Unlike the amenities on Air Force One, the E-4B is a mobile war command center, carrying dozens of military analysts, strategists and communications assistants to assist the US president.
During the end of the Cold War, an E-4B Nightwatch aircraft was always in a state of combat readiness at Andrews Air Force Base, ready to take off carrying the US president after just 15 minutes of alarm.
Today, the US Air Force always dispatches E-4B aircraft to fly with or near the US president on foreign trips.