GE Aerospace has been selected by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to upgrade the GEnx-2B engines for the United States Air Force’s (USAF) new Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) based on the Boeing 747-8 aircraft. This project will support various pre-delivery activities for the SAOC aircraft.
“The GEnx will serve a crucial role in national security and provide superior performance and reliability required for the US Air Force,” said Brady Hauboldt, Vice President of Aviation Strategic Plans & Programs at SNC. “We are proud to have GE Aerospace as a key part of Team SAOC.”
In April 2024, SNC recently secured the SAOC contract from the USAF to develop a successor to the current E-4B Nightwatch aircraft fleet, which is powered by GE Aerospace’s CF6 engines.
Boeing’s exclusion from the competition for the E4-B’s replacement, revealed in December 2023, left SNC as the sole contender. The following month, SNC acquired five Boeing 747-8s from Korean Air.
Replacing the “Doomsday plane”
The E-4 Nightwatch, a modified version of the Boeing 747-200, is designed to provide the President, the Secretary of Defense, and other high-ranking officials with a secure means of communicating with military forces worldwide in the event of a national emergency.
It features shielded avionics and compartments to protect against electromagnetic interference and external radiation, the conditions arising after a nuclear attack. Thus, the E-4 earned the nickname ‘Doomsday Plane’. The updated B standard, implemented in the 1980s, increased its operational autonomy to 72 hours by adding an aerial refueling capability.
Four E-4Bs are currently on active duty with the USAF 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron, part of the 595th Command and Control Group based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
