The fleet of doomsday planes of the United States is heading towards a historic renewal. The Americans are moving forward firmly in their plan to remove the iconic ones Boeing E-4Bwhich have been in service for 50 years.
While the Boeing E-4B, created based on the 747-200, is not the only doomsday plane on US orders, it is the most notorious. After all, he is the one who should be in charge of protect the president and/or his successors in the event of a nuclear war.
But despite the updates and improvements that have been applied to the four Boeing E-4Bs prepared to face such an apocalyptic scenario, it is a fact that their retirement is getting closer. That is why in 2020 the United States Air Force launched a request to the aeronautical industry to present projects to create new doomsday planes, with the aim of entering service in the early years of the 2030s.
In early 2022, the USAF issued a series of recommendations that manufacturers should take into account. However, he had not mentioned specific timelines for the development of replacements for the Boeing E-4Bs assigned to the 595th Command and Control Group operating at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
However, this year the project to create an “airborne survival operations center”, the formal name for the doomsday planes, has received a significant financial boost. In its fiscal year 2024 budget, the United States Air Force requested 889 million dollars to allocate to this initiative. A brutal jump compared to the 98 million dollars invested in this work during the previous fiscal period.
The United States works to renew its fleet of doomsday planes
A curious fact about the renewal process of the US doomsday aircraft fleet is that Boeing will not be taken into account. A very striking fact, considering that the Seattle firm has historically been in charge of developing the different versions of these aircraft.
The first doomsday plane that was under the command of the American government and military was a modified Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker. While the Navy has its own aircraft of this style, the Boeing E-6B; although it is already working to replace it with a development led by Lockheed Martin.
As reported Reuters At the end of 2023, the USAF left Boeing out of competition to replace the E-4Bs because he refused to sign a fixed price contract. This, because the corporation was already recording billions of dollars in losses in different government projects in which it had had to assume expenses that exceeded the limits established in the agreements.
Sierra Nevada Corp It is the only firm that remains in the race to develop the Air Force’s next doomsday planes. However, this does not ensure that it is the manufacturer chosen to develop and produce the aircraft that will take over from the Boeing E-4B. The intention of the USAF would be award the new contract this year. It remains to be seen if this finally comes to fruition.
Very expensive air fortresses
The doomsday planes entered the scene at the hottest point of the Cold War. In the case of the Boeing E-4B, its definitive characteristics are kept under absolute secrecy for obvious reasons. However, it is known that all its windows, with the exception of those on the cockpit, are sealed and locked. It has special thermal and nuclear protection and is even capable of withstanding the effects of an electromagnetic pulse.
The aircraft in question are said to use mostly analog communication equipment, to avoid vulnerabilities. Of course, the authorities never confirmed that it was true. They have capacity for 112 passengers and have a flight range of up to 12 hours, although they can also refuel while remaining in the air. In theory, They would be able to fly for a full week uninterrupted. However, the longest test performed was 35 consecutive hours during training.
Although their need to protect US high command in the event of a nuclear war scenario is not discussed, the doomsday planes have not been exempt from controversies. In 1998 it was reported that the cost of each Air Force Boeing E-4B had exceeded $220 million; that is, more than 414 million 2024 dollars when adjusted for inflation. While in 2016 it was revealed that the cost per flight hour of this model was the highest of the entire US military fleet, close to $160,000 ($204,000 adjusted to 2024).