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The plane is to be used by the US president during nuclear war or other serious crises.
The US Air Force has announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sierra Nevada Corporations where the company will produce the replacement for the E-4B Nightwatch “doomsday plane”.
This is written by the website Defense News.
The plane is called a doomsday plane because it can fly even if there is a nuclear war going on. From there, the US president can lead the US if command centers on the ground are destroyed.
The company will develop and produce the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), which is the new name for the doomsday plane.
It is expected that Sierra Nevada will finish work on July 10, 2036.
The US Air Force has set aside $59 million for the company to begin research, development, testing and evaluation immediately.
“The development of this critical national security weapon system ensures that the department’s nuclear command, control and communications capability is operationally relevant and secure for decades to come,” an Air Force spokesperson said in an email to Defense News.
