Survivable Airborne Command Center

[Zaphod58]

Several decases ago I had the opportunity to visit Air Force 2, and I recall asking a question regarding EMP resistance... I was met with some piercing gazes... I was just a pup, and it only afterwards dawned on me that such questions were not 'uttered' in public, or spoken of among "visitors." (Remember, it was ages ago.)

I noticed that they are "hardening" these new models against EMP, but I have never heard how that is achieved, given the physical forces which EMPs consist of.  Do aircraft like these use fiber optics instead of fly-by-wire (perhaps both?)  Is there such a thing as practical EMP shielding in a platform like this?

All military aircraft have to go through EMP testing. It’s gotten pretty advanced. There are two anechoic chambers that can lift the aircraft off the ground, and hit it with massive amounts of RF energy to check interference with various systems, and there are multiple locations that the aircraft taxi or are parked under a wire structure that hits them with one huge burst of energy. There are a few pictures of testing sites out, but it’s really not talked about.

For many years testing was done at Atlas-1, at Kirtland AFB. This structure, for years, was the largest non nuclear electromagnetic pulse generator in the world (two Marx generators to simulate a high altitude detonation and pulse). It also holds the record for the largest structure ever built entirely of wood and glue laminate. There were no metal fasteners or pieces, and wooden dowels were used to hold everything together.