(Dan Tri) – The US will develop a new `Doomsday` aircraft to serve the president in an emergency.
E-4B command and control aircraft (Photo: AFP)
A spokesperson for the US Air Force announced on April 27 that Washington will develop a new `Doomsday` aircraft, to allow the president to continue leading the country in the event of nuclear war or disaster.
The spokesman said a contract worth 13 billion USD to implement the Air Survival Operations Center (SAOC) project was signed with Sierra Nevada corporation.
According to the spokesperson, construction of the new strategic command and control military aircraft will be conducted at facilities in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio.
The US Air Force said the SAOC will be developed based on a commercial jet, reinforced and modified to meet Pentagon standards.
SAOC is expected to replace the aging E-4B Nightwatch aircraft that the US Air Force is using at the present time.
The E4-B is militarized from the Boeing 747 commercial aircraft and costs about 223 million USD.
The E-4B carries advanced communications equipment, is capable of aerial refueling, and can withstand nuclear explosions and various electromagnetic effects.
In a war scenario, these aircraft are responsible for directly transmitting orders from the president and defense minister to the nuclear deterrent force.
The E4-B was designed in 1973 and was considered one of the best ways to protect the US president from nuclear threats amid the ongoing Cold War with the Soviet Union at that time.
The US currently owns 4 E-4Bs.
Russia also has four `Doomsday` aircraft, based on the Ilyushin Il-80 aircraft.