The US military has begun testing a new "doomsday plane"

According to a report on the website of the American "Defense News" weekly magazine on September 5th, the US Air Force and aerospace company Sierra Nevada Corporation have started flight tests for the Air Force's next generation "Doomsday Plane". Sierra Nevada Corporation announced on September 4th that flight tests for the E-4C "Survivable Airborne Operations Center" aircraft are underway at the Aerospace Innovation and Technology Center in Dayton, Ohio. The company conducted the first test flight of the SAOC aircraft on August 7th as part of the project development process. They stated that flight and ground tests will continue until 2026, mainly in Dayton and Wichita, Kansas. The SAOC aircraft can be used as an airborne command and control center in the most severe disaster situations. In the event of a nuclear war or other large-scale disaster leading to the destruction or damage of most military command centers, the SAOC aircraft will allow the President to command US military forces and issue orders from the air. The US Air Force awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation a $13 billion contract in 2024 to manufacture 5 SAOC aircraft to replace the "Doomsday Plane" fleet consisting of 4 aging E-4B "Nightwatch" aircraft. It is expected that the company will complete this work by July 2026.