US Air Force awards $13 billion Doomsday plane contract to Sierra Nevada
US Air Force awards $13 billion Doomsday plane contract to Sierra Nevada
The U.S. Air Force said on Friday that it has awarded a $13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane due to its ability to survive a nuclear war.
The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) project is intended to replace the aging 1970s-era aircraft, which is approaching end-of-service life, an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement.
Work on the SAOC will be carried out in Colorado, Nevada and Ohio and is expected to be completed in 2036, the Air Force added.
Reuters in December reported that the U.S. Air Force eliminated Boeing from its competition to develop a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch.
And here I thought at first glance that they gave a plane contract to a brewery.
75ish years seems like a great lifespan for a plane
The B-52 has been flying since 1952, 74 years, so yeah that's on the high end
Note that there have also been a lot of upgrades. Like, the basic airframe of the 1952 B-52 may be the same as the 2024 B-52, but the stuff onboard has changed a lot over the years.
I'd guess, though I don't know, that the same is probably true of the E-4.
Aerodynamics and metal fatigue hasn't changed much of any at all in a century.
Once you have a good airframe design, it just becomes a matter of upgrading electronics, engines, regular repairs, and servicing parts that are known to be prone to metal fatigue.
Hence why the B-52 which was first flown in 1952 will likely be in service until 2060!
Reuters in December reported that the U.S. Air Force eliminated Boeing from its competition to develop a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch.
No surprises here.
$13 billion could save so many lives around the world, bring food and healthcare to so many people...
Airborne command-and-control for nuclear war also has some pretty direct implications for a lot of lives.
People are only nice to white people because they really fucking nuts.
White people and their self made apocalypse has got to be the laziest and dumbest bullshit ever created.
Paranoid losers.
Not sure why you gotta bring skin color into this?
It’s ok to be racist now if you direct it properly.
Dont worry dude, China intends on catching up and building up their nuclear arsenal to the level of the US and Russia.
So i guess "yellow" people have joined the "white" people's paranoia. I dont see how race is relevant in any way.
People are crazy, this aint a white people thing. Have ya ever looked up the rape of Nanking, Imperial Japan wouldve drowned the world in nuclear fire if they had gotten the bomb first. So fucken knock it off with the dumbfuck bullshit.