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Survivable Airborne Operations Center

May 07, 2024

The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) is a United States Air Force program to develop a replacement for the E-4 National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC), a strategic command-and-control military aircraft used as a mobile command post for the National Command Authority in emergency situations.

Survivable Airborne Operations Center
Role Airborne strategic command and control post
Manufacturer Sierra Nevada Corporation[1]
Introduction 2032 (planned)
Status In development
Primary user United States Air Force

The current E-4 platforms were built in the 1970s. The airframes are reaching the end of their operational lifespans and support costs are increasing. Because of this, in 2019, the USAF began a program to develop a new platform. This program will take several years to complete. The E-4s will continue to fulfill the role in the meantime.

Sierra Nevada Corporation was selected to develop the aircraft.[2]

Development edit

 
A Boeing E-4 Advanced Airborne Command Post

The program began in 2019. The age issues regarding the E-4 platform were recognized much earlier. In 2006, then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld attempted to retire the aircraft due to its age, with the first plane scheduled for retirement in 2009.[3]

In 2007, with no capable replacement, Rumsfeld's successor, Robert Gates, overturned the decision and kept all the planes in the fleet.[4] The E-4B airframe has a usable life of 115,000 hours and 30,000 cycles, which will be reached in 2039. The maintenance limiting point will occur sometime in the 2020s.[5]

Like the B-21 Raider, the USAF expects to take advantage of off-the-shelf commercial products and digital design to a greater degree than in previous projects, to streamline development and reduce acquisition costs by relying less on bespoke components.[6]

Operational status is not expected until the 2030s. In March 2023, USAF Gen. Thomas Bussiere testified to the United States House of Representatives Armed Services Committee that "the SAOC will achieve FOC [full operating capability] in the early to mid-2030s."[7] A US Senate report on the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a section on the SAOC wherein the Armed Services Committee "encourages the Secretary to maintain the current recapitalization schedule in order to replace the aging fleet and field the more capable aircraft by the 2032 required assets available date."[8]

In August 2023, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announced the construction of large 90,000sqft maintenance, repair, and overhaul hangars in Dayton, Ohio, as a part of their bid for the SOAC contract. SNC released renderings of the hangars with Boeing 747-8s in them, indicating that the 747-8 is the likely platform for the SOAC.[9][10]

Funding edit

Since the FY2021 NDAA, Congress has appropriated nearly $300 million in development funds, including $76.4 million for the first contracts in 2021.[11] The Air Force requested substantially greater funding in FY2024, asking for $888.8 million.[12] As of the FY2024 funding request, the program is expected to cost $8.3 billion between FY2022 to FY2028.[13]

Selection process edit

As of August 2023, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) was reported to be bidding for the contract, on a platform assumed to entail data and communication modifications to a number of used 747-8 airframes.[14]

In December 2023, Boeing was eliminated from the bidding process, after refusing to enter into a fixed-price deal similar to its loss-making contract for the VC-25B, leaving SNC unopposed in the selection process.[15][16]

On 26 April 2024, Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded a $13 billion contract with the contract expected to be completed by 2036.[17][18][19]

Design edit

Details about the design have not been publicly released, partially due to the classified nature of its mission but also because the project is still in development. The Air Force described its mission in the FY2024 budget request:

The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) will replace the aging E-4B fleet which faces capability gaps, diminishing manufacturing sources, increased maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence as it approaches the end of its serviceable life. SAOC will provide POTUS, SECDEF and the CJCS a worldwide, survivable, and enduring node of the National Military Command System (NMCS) to fulfill national security requirements throughout all stages of conflict. As a command, control and communications center directing US forces, executing emergency war orders and coordinating the activities of civil authorities including national contingency plans, this capability ensures continuity of operations and continuity of government as required in a national emergency or after negation/destruction of ground command and control centers. SAOC will fulfill the requirements of the AF Nuclear Mission by providing Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) capabilities to enable the exercise of authority and direction by the President to command and control US military nuclear weapons operations.[13]

While the project is still in the early stages as of 2023, some of the existing project work has set requirements that would seem to rule out any aircraft platform except the Boeing 747-8. In 2022, Col. Brian Golden said:

You need a very large, four-engine aircraft to execute our mission set. There was a lot of discussion on: Could it be done on two engines? Partly. A lot of risk would have to be taken, and it wasn’t the Air Force’s risk to take.[20]

This statement seems to strongly suggest that the Air Force will once again turn to the Boeing 747, the only US-made four-engine airliner built in the several years prior, and the only aircraft based on a four-engine airliner platform built in the US since the last new-build E-3 Sentry and E-6 Mercury aircraft, both based on the Boeing 707 platform, were delivered in 1991. The only other four-engine airliner in recent construction is the Airbus A380, but production for that ended in 2021,[21] and the Air Force is generally reluctant to use aircraft not built in the United States, especially for highly sensitive missions such as the SAOC will take on. While 747-8 production ended in January 2023,[22] the Air Force has left open the possibility of purchasing used aircraft. Col. Golden said that a new aircraft wouldn't be necessary, making acquisition of a used 747-8 a possibility.

You don’t have to buy a brand-new aircraft. It’s not like a car. . . . You can buy an older aircraft—a few years old, five years old, it doesn’t matter—and the engineers will strip it down and build it back up.[20]

The FY2024 budget justification includes an expectation that the contractor will "buy the required aircraft, bring each aircraft to a common configuration, make required modifications, develop and integrate the mission system into each aircraft, provide required ground support systems and conduct contract support operations for fielded systems until Operations and Support Phase."[13]

The Defense Department has looked at the possibility of merging the capabilities of the US Navy's Boeing E-6 Mercury, currently the only aircraft with nuclear command-and-control capabilities, into the SAOC so that the roles of both the E-4 and the E-6 are handled by one aircraft.[23] This would also address the age of the Boeing 707 platform upon which the E-6 is based, which first flew in the 1950s. However, the Navy has chosen to replace the E-6 Mercury with the E-XX platform based on the EC-130J.[24] The new platform will continue the E-6's TACAMO mission but will drop the ICBM command-and-control capabilities of the E-6. Those capabilities will be integrated into the SAOC.

Planned capabilities have not been publicly discussed in great detail, but the program requirements[13] include:

See also edit

Related development

  • Boeing 747 – American wide-body long-range commercial jet aircraft
  • Boeing VC-25 – US Air Force presidential transport aircraft

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era

Related lists

References edit

  1. ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-26/-doomsday-plane-contract-for-13-billion-goes-to-sierra-nevada
  2. ^ https://theaviationist.com/2024/04/27/sierra-nevada-saoc-announcement/
  3. ^ (PDF). FY2008 Federal Budget. February 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  4. ^ Francillon 2008, p. 37.
  5. ^ (PDF). bga-aeroweb.com. March 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  6. ^ "ATAC provides recommendations for NAOC replacement". Air Force. 16 January 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  7. ^ Bussiere, Thomas (28 March 2023). "FY24 Posture for Department of Defense Nuclear Forces" (PDF). US House of Representatives Document Repository. (PDF) from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  8. ^ "FY2024 NDAA Bill Report" (PDF). United States Committee on Armed Services. pp. 405–406. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  9. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (27 April 2024). "Job Of Building The Air Force's Next Doomsday Planes Falls To Sierra Nevada Corp. (Updated)". The Warzone. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  10. ^ Everstine, Brian (30 August 2023). "Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Underdog Bid For The Next U.S. 'Doomsday Plane'". Aviation Week. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  11. ^ Hitchens, Theresa (14 February 2020). "Air Force To Kick Off E-4B Replacement Competition In 2021". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  12. ^ Marrow, Michael (13 March 2023). "Air Force's FY24 request seeks to retire 310 older planes to invest in its future". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d "Department of Defense Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Estimates, Air Force Justification Book Volume 2 of 4, Research, Development, Test & Evaluation, Air Force" (PDF). Air Force Financial Management & Comptroller. March 2023. pp. 229–235. (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  14. ^ Everstine, Brian (30 August 2023). "Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Underdog Bid For The Next U.S. 'Doomsday Plane'". Aviation Week Network. from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  15. ^ Insinna, Valerie; Stone, Mike (1 December 2023). "Exclusive: Boeing eliminated from US Air Force's 'Doomsday Plane' competition". Reuters. from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  16. ^ Pettibone, Richard (4 December 2023). "Boeing Out of Running to Build New Air Force 'Doomsday Plane'". Defense Security Monitor. from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  17. ^ Marrow, Michael (26 April 2024). "Air Force awards SNC $13B contract for new 'Doomsday' plane". Breaking Defense. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  18. ^ Losey, Stephen (27 April 2024). "Sierra Nevada wins $13B contract to build Air Force 'doomsday plane'". DefenseNews. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Contracts for April 26, 2024". U.S. Department of Defense. 26 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  20. ^ a b "USAF's Next Airborne Nuclear Command-And-Control Aircraft, Needs Four Engines | Aviation Week Network". aviationweek.com. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  21. ^ Street, Francesca (16 December 2021). "The last ever A380 superjumbo is delivered to Emirates". CNN. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  22. ^ Ros, Miquel (31 January 2023). "Boeing says farewell to 'Queen of the Skies' with last 747 delivery". CNN. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  23. ^ Martin, Jeff (24 October 2018). "US Air Force may replace 3 types of aircraft with a single platform". Defense News. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  24. ^ Newdick, Thomas (4 April 2023). "Navy Drops Air Force's Mission From Its Next 'Doomsday Plane'". The Drive. Retrieved 27 October 2023.

May 07, 2024
survivable, airborne, operations, center, saoc, united, states, force, program, develop, replacement, national, airborne, operations, center, naoc, strategic, command, control, military, aircraft, used, mobile, command, post, national, command, authority, emer. The Survivable Airborne Operations Center SAOC is a United States Air Force program to develop a replacement for the E 4 National Airborne Operations Center NAOC a strategic command and control military aircraft used as a mobile command post for the National Command Authority in emergency situations Survivable Airborne Operations Center Role Airborne strategic command and control post Manufacturer Sierra Nevada Corporation 1 Introduction 2032 planned Status In development Primary user United States Air Force The current E 4 platforms were built in the 1970s The airframes are reaching the end of their operational lifespans and support costs are increasing Because of this in 2019 the USAF began a program to develop a new platform This program will take several years to complete The E 4s will continue to fulfill the role in the meantime Sierra Nevada Corporation was selected to develop the aircraft 2 Contents 1 Development 1 1 Funding 1 2 Selection process 2 Design 3 See also 4 ReferencesDevelopment edit nbsp A Boeing E 4 Advanced Airborne Command Post The program began in 2019 The age issues regarding the E 4 platform were recognized much earlier In 2006 then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld attempted to retire the aircraft due to its age with the first plane scheduled for retirement in 2009 3 In 2007 with no capable replacement Rumsfeld s successor Robert Gates overturned the decision and kept all the planes in the fleet 4 The E 4B airframe has a usable life of 115 000 hours and 30 000 cycles which will be reached in 2039 The maintenance limiting point will occur sometime in the 2020s 5 Like the B 21 Raider the USAF expects to take advantage of off the shelf commercial products and digital design to a greater degree than in previous projects to streamline development and reduce acquisition costs by relying less on bespoke components 6 Operational status is not expected until the 2030s In March 2023 USAF Gen Thomas Bussiere testified to the United States House of Representatives Armed Services Committee that the SAOC will achieve FOC full operating capability in the early to mid 2030s 7 A US Senate report on the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act NDAA includes a section on the SAOC wherein the Armed Services Committee encourages the Secretary to maintain the current recapitalization schedule in order to replace the aging fleet and field the more capable aircraft by the 2032 required assets available date 8 In August 2023 Sierra Nevada Corporation SNC announced the construction of large 90 000sqft maintenance repair and overhaul hangars in Dayton Ohio as a part of their bid for the SOAC contract SNC released renderings of the hangars with Boeing 747 8s in them indicating that the 747 8 is the likely platform for the SOAC 9 10 Funding edit Since the FY2021 NDAA Congress has appropriated nearly 300 million in development funds including 76 4 million for the first contracts in 2021 11 The Air Force requested substantially greater funding in FY2024 asking for 888 8 million 12 As of the FY2024 funding request the program is expected to cost 8 3 billion between FY2022 to FY2028 13 Selection process edit As of August 2023 Sierra Nevada Corporation SNC was reported to be bidding for the contract on a platform assumed to entail data and communication modifications to a number of used 747 8 airframes 14 In December 2023 Boeing was eliminated from the bidding process after refusing to enter into a fixed price deal similar to its loss making contract for the VC 25B leaving SNC unopposed in the selection process 15 16 On 26 April 2024 Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded a 13 billion contract with the contract expected to be completed by 2036 17 18 19 Design editDetails about the design have not been publicly released partially due to the classified nature of its mission but also because the project is still in development The Air Force described its mission in the FY2024 budget request The Survivable Airborne Operations Center SAOC will replace the aging E 4B fleet which faces capability gaps diminishing manufacturing sources increased maintenance costs and parts obsolescence as it approaches the end of its serviceable life SAOC will provide POTUS SECDEF and the CJCS a worldwide survivable and enduring node of the National Military Command System NMCS to fulfill national security requirements throughout all stages of conflict As a command control and communications center directing US forces executing emergency war orders and coordinating the activities of civil authorities including national contingency plans this capability ensures continuity of operations and continuity of government as required in a national emergency or after negation destruction of ground command and control centers SAOC will fulfill the requirements of the AF Nuclear Mission by providing Nuclear Command Control and Communications NC3 capabilities to enable the exercise of authority and direction by the President to command and control US military nuclear weapons operations 13 While the project is still in the early stages as of 2023 some of the existing project work has set requirements that would seem to rule out any aircraft platform except the Boeing 747 8 In 2022 Col Brian Golden said You need a very large four engine aircraft to execute our mission set There was a lot of discussion on Could it be done on two engines Partly A lot of risk would have to be taken and it wasn t the Air Force s risk to take 20 This statement seems to strongly suggest that the Air Force will once again turn to the Boeing 747 the only US made four engine airliner built in the several years prior and the only aircraft based on a four engine airliner platform built in the US since the last new build E 3 Sentry and E 6 Mercury aircraft both based on the Boeing 707 platform were delivered in 1991 The only other four engine airliner in recent construction is the Airbus A380 but production for that ended in 2021 21 and the Air Force is generally reluctant to use aircraft not built in the United States especially for highly sensitive missions such as the SAOC will take on While 747 8 production ended in January 2023 22 the Air Force has left open the possibility of purchasing used aircraft Col Golden said that a new aircraft wouldn t be necessary making acquisition of a used 747 8 a possibility You don t have to buy a brand new aircraft It s not like a car You can buy an older aircraft a few years old five years old it doesn t matter and the engineers will strip it down and build it back up 20 The FY2024 budget justification includes an expectation that the contractor will buy the required aircraft bring each aircraft to a common configuration make required modifications develop and integrate the mission system into each aircraft provide required ground support systems and conduct contract support operations for fielded systems until Operations and Support Phase 13 The Defense Department has looked at the possibility of merging the capabilities of the US Navy s Boeing E 6 Mercury currently the only aircraft with nuclear command and control capabilities into the SAOC so that the roles of both the E 4 and the E 6 are handled by one aircraft 23 This would also address the age of the Boeing 707 platform upon which the E 6 is based which first flew in the 1950s However the Navy has chosen to replace the E 6 Mercury with the E XX platform based on the EC 130J 24 The new platform will continue the E 6 s TACAMO mission but will drop the ICBM command and control capabilities of the E 6 Those capabilities will be integrated into the SAOC Planned capabilities have not been publicly discussed in great detail but the program requirements 13 include Aerial refueling capability to enable sustained airborne operations Hardening against electromagnetic pulse EMP and nuclear effects Nuclear Command Control and Communications NC3 capabilities Secure communications and planning capabilities based on a Modular Open System Approach MOSA See also editTACAMO US strategic communications system Airborne Launch Control System US Strategic Command platform for survivable launch control system for ballistic missile force Related development Boeing 747 American wide body long range commercial jet aircraft Boeing VC 25 US Air Force presidential transport aircraft Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Boeing E 4 US Air Force airborne command squadron aircraft Boeing E 6 Mercury Airborne command post aircraft by Boeing based on 707 airframe Doomsday plane Russia Russian Airborne Command Post Ilyushin Il 80 Russian airborne command post aircraft based on Il 86 airliner Northrop Grumman E 10 MC2A Proposed Airborne Warning and Control aircraft based on the Boeing 767 airframe Related lists List of active United States military aircraftReferences edit https www bloomberg com news articles 2024 04 26 doomsday plane contract for 13 billion goes to sierra nevada https theaviationist com 2024 04 27 sierra nevada saoc announcement Federal Budget Program 0302015F E 4B National Airborne Operations Center PDF FY2008 Federal Budget February 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 19 April 2015 Retrieved 19 April 2015 Francillon 2008 p 37 Federal Budget Program E00400 E 4B PDF bga aeroweb com March 2014 Archived from the original PDF on 25 February 2021 Retrieved 19 April 2015 ATAC provides recommendations for NAOC replacement Air Force 16 January 2022 Retrieved 26 October 2023 Bussiere Thomas 28 March 2023 FY24 Posture for Department of Defense Nuclear Forces PDF US House of Representatives Document Repository Archived PDF from the original on 28 March 2023 Retrieved 25 October 2023 FY2024 NDAA Bill Report PDF United States Committee on Armed Services pp 405 406 Retrieved 26 October 2023 Trevithick Joseph 27 April 2024 Job Of Building The Air Force s Next Doomsday Planes Falls To Sierra Nevada Corp Updated The Warzone Retrieved 28 April 2024 Everstine Brian 30 August 2023 Sierra Nevada Corp s Underdog Bid For The Next U S Doomsday Plane Aviation Week Retrieved 28 April 2024 Hitchens Theresa 14 February 2020 Air Force To Kick Off E 4B Replacement Competition In 2021 Breaking Defense Retrieved 26 October 2023 Marrow Michael 13 March 2023 Air Force s FY24 request seeks to retire 310 older planes to invest in its future Breaking Defense Retrieved 26 October 2023 a b c d Department of Defense Fiscal Year FY 2024 Budget Estimates Air Force Justification Book Volume 2 of 4 Research Development Test amp Evaluation Air Force PDF Air Force Financial Management amp Comptroller March 2023 pp 229 235 Archived PDF from the original on 8 May 2023 Retrieved 26 October 2023 Everstine Brian 30 August 2023 Sierra Nevada Corp s Underdog Bid For The Next U S Doomsday Plane Aviation Week Network Archived from the original on 4 December 2023 Retrieved 6 December 2023 Insinna Valerie Stone Mike 1 December 2023 Exclusive Boeing eliminated from US Air Force s Doomsday Plane competition Reuters Archived from the original on 5 December 2023 Retrieved 6 December 2023 Pettibone Richard 4 December 2023 Boeing Out of Running to Build New Air Force Doomsday Plane Defense Security Monitor Archived from the original on 4 December 2023 Retrieved 6 December 2023 Marrow Michael 26 April 2024 Air Force awards SNC 13B contract for new Doomsday plane Breaking Defense Retrieved 26 April 2024 Losey Stephen 27 April 2024 Sierra Nevada wins 13B contract to build Air Force doomsday plane DefenseNews Retrieved 29 April 2024 Contracts for April 26 2024 U S Department of Defense 26 April 2024 Retrieved 26 April 2024 a b USAF s Next Airborne Nuclear Command And Control Aircraft Needs Four Engines Aviation Week Network aviationweek com Retrieved 27 October 2023 Street Francesca 16 December 2021 The last ever A380 superjumbo is delivered to Emirates CNN Retrieved 27 October 2023 Ros Miquel 31 January 2023 Boeing says farewell to Queen of the Skies with last 747 delivery CNN Retrieved 27 October 2023 Martin Jeff 24 October 2018 US Air Force may replace 3 types of aircraft with a single platform Defense News Retrieved 27 October 2023 Newdick Thomas 4 April 2023 Navy Drops Air Force s Mission From Its Next Doomsday Plane The Drive Retrieved 27 October 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Survivable Airborne Operations Center amp oldid 1221477296, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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