The U.S. Air Force may be preparing to greatly expand its fleet of highly-specialized command-and-control aircraft.
News website Aviation Week reported that the military branch may order up to eight SNC E-4Cs, which are being developed to replace the Boeing E-4B. The E-4B serves as an airborne command post, and one of its main purposes is to ensure continuity of government during a nuclear war.
The Air Force operates four E-4Bs, and it was initially expected that the aircraft would be replaced on a one-to-one basis, with an extra fifth E-4C for risk reduction. But Aviation Week cited slides shown at a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers industry day that said there will be six to eight E-4Cs at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where the E-4Bs are located.
Construction work is being planned at Offutt to accommodate the E-4C.
The E-4B is based on the Boeing 747-200, while the E-4C is a modified form of the 747-8I. In 2024, the Air Force selected Sierra Nevada Corp. to develop the E-4C under the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) program. The SAOC contract is worth $13 billion so far.
Work on the E-4C is expected to be completed by 2036.
