The U.S. Air Force is looking to possibly double its Doomsday aircraft fleet as it brings on the replacement for the E-4B Nightwatch, according to a new pitch to industry.
The Air Force in April 2024 awarded Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) a $13 billion contract to integrate the E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), a highly modified Boeing 747-8i, to replace the 747-200-based E-4B fleet. The service flies four E-4Bs now, and SNC has purchased five 747-8is from Korean Airlines for the program.
SNC plans to modify four of the aircraft for SAOC, with the fifth being used for risk reduction at the National Institute for Aviation Research in Wichita.
The Air Force has not finalized the fleet size, though there had been indications of growth and the company has said it is prepared to field additional aircraft. This is occurring as the international market for 747-8is is heating up. The Air Force announced in December it was buying two 747-8is from Lufthansa to be used for training ahead of fielding the new VC-25B “Air Force One.” Two of the aircraft are in modification by Boeing for that program, and President Donald Trump has accepted the donation of one more 747-8i Boeing Business Jet to serve as an interim aircraft ahead of the VC-25B’s arrival in 2028.
In January, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held an industry day for SAOC construction at its operating base of Offutt AFB, Nebraska. Slides from the industry day posted Jan. 22 say there will be six to eight E-4Cs at the base, up from the four E-4Bs now.
An environmental assessment of the project is ongoing, with an estimated completion time of September 2026.
The slides show the new construction will include a two-bay maintenance hangar with ramps and a taxiway to be completed in fiscal 2028, along with a one-bay fuel cell hangar to be completed in fiscal 2030. There will also be an operations training facility, fire station and supply storage facility.
The maintenance hangar needs to fully enclose two 747-8is, with the parking apron able to fit seven E-4Cs. The existing structures will be demolished.
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