A former airline company's jets are now being transformed by a US corporation into the next iteration of nuclear "Doomsday" planes.
Five former passenger jets from South Korean carrier Korean Air, those being Boeing 747s, are now in the possession of the Sierra Nevada Corporation. This company is responsible for developing the next generation of strategic command and control military aircraft for the US Air Force, commonly known as "Doomsday" planes.
These Doomsday planes are designed to serve as mobile command centers for the US military in the event of a disaster that takes out key ground-based facilities, such as during a nuclear war. They could potentially act as a skybound version of the Pentagon, capable of accommodating the US President, Secretary of Defense, and over a hundred other individuals who would be able to oversee US armed forces from the aircraft itself.
The E-4B "Nightwatch" planes are engineered to withstand the impacts of an electromagnetic pulse, a powerful energy burst that can cause widespread damage to electrical equipment and systems following a nuclear detonation. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, this burst can put lives in danger, particularly those in critical infrastructure sectors. At least one E-4B plane is on constant standby at a military base, per the Air Force's statement.
A Sierra Nevada Corporation spokesperson confirmed the acquisition of the five Korean Air jets, but declined to provide any further details. On April 26, they were given a $13 billion contract by the Air Force to develop and produce the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, the official name of the impending Doomsday plane upgrade. The work on the project is scheduled to end by 2036, according to a release from the Department of Defense.
To facilitate the refurbishing of the planes, Sierra Nevada recently opened a 100,000-square-foot facility in Ohio for aircraft maintenance and repair. Beginning construction on a second hangar of a comparable size has also started.
Artist renderings show a 747-800 inside the Ohio facility.
The 747-800s are an improvement over the older and smaller 747-200 planes currently in use for the Doomsday fleet, which first entered service with the Air Force in the 1980s.
On April 7, Korean Air shared the news of the $675 million sale of these 5 planes to Sierra Nevada, indicating it's part of their planned transition towards acquiring newer aircraft. They project the transaction to be completed by September 30, 2025. As of October 2023, Korean Air had nine 747-800 passenger planes in their fleet.
CNN's Yoonjung Seo assisted with this report.
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The five retired Boeing 747s from Korean Air, originally passenger jets, are now being utilized by the Sierra Nevada Corporation in their project to develop new "Doomsday" planes for the US Air Force, primarily focused on Asia.
The Sierra Nevada Corporation, with their newly acquired Korean Air 747s, is planning to enhance the capabilities of the existing Doomsday fleet, serving the United States in times of crises across the vast expanse of the world.
Source: edition.cnn.com
