Air Force awards Sierra Nevada Corporation $13 billion contract to build new 'Doomsday' plane

Sierra Nevada Corporation says the U.S. Air Force has awarded them a $13 billion contact to deliver a replacement for the service's E-4B, otherwise known as the 'Doomsday' plane.

The contract for the new Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) is expected to run through July of 2036.

The program will replace the Air Force’s aging fleet of four E-4B planes, known as Nightwatch or the National Airborne Operations Center, which typically transport the Defense Secretary but can also act as a mobile nuclear command and control outpost.

Sierra Nevada Corporation is located in Sparks and is an American aerospace, defense engineering, and manufacturing corporation that specializes in aircraft modification, integration and other space technologies.

We have reached out the Sierra Nevada Corporation and the U.S. Air Force for further comment and have yet to hear back.

This is a developing story and we will update this story as we learn more.