Sierra Nevada Corp. is preparing to receive its first commercial passenger jet to be modified into the Air Force’s next “doomsday” planes. Brady Hauboldt, SNC’s vice president of business development, stated that the first of five Boeing 747-8s that will become the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, or SAOC, will arrive at its Dayton, Ohio, facility this summer. The SAOC will gradually replace the Air Force’s aging E-4B Nightwatch aircraft over the next twelve years, with a $13 billion contract awarded to SNC to complete the project by July 2036.
SNC has made significant investments in digital engineering tools, infrastructure, and facilities to support the SAOC project, including the establishment of an Aviation Innovation and Technology Center in Dayton, Ohio. The company plans to add about 1,000 workers for the program, with developmental engineering based in Denver, Colorado, and new offices opening in locations such as Dallas, Texas.
SNC will purchase five Boeing 747-8 planes from Korean Air to convert into flying operations centers, with the last delivery scheduled for September 2025. The company plans to perform structural modifications on the planes to install communications antennas, mission systems, and radiation shielding to protect against nuclear blasts. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works will subcontract to perform the radiation hardening work on the SAOC.
SNC has tailored its proposal to address concerns about lifecycle costs by utilizing open systems architecture and offering a robust data rights package to the Air Force. The company is confident in its ability to efficiently sustain and modify the SAOC aircraft to keep the job in the future, ensuring great dividends for the U.S. Air Force and the Department of Defense for decades to come.
