The Sierra Nevada Corporation was awarded the $13B contract to integrate the equipment and airframes for the E-4B replacement, known as the Survivable Airborne Operations Center after Boeing was disqualified. The contract requires them to provide airframes, and modifications for the required equipment. They currently have five Korean 747-8 airframes on contract, as Korean is divesting aircraft in their fleet modernization plan. The price of the airframes will be $675M, or about $135M per aircraft. The last will be delivered by September 2025, with the first expected in the next few weeks.
https://www.sncorp.com/news-archive/in-t...day-fleet/
It was announced this week that Rolls Royce will be a subcontractor for the program, suggesting that the aircraft will get new engines, possibly allowing for the use of SAFs going forward, certainly to increase the available electrical power for the mission systems required. The aircraft currently have GE GEnx-2B engines. With Rolls Royce being a subcontractor the aircraft could see those changed to RB211 variants, or even Trent 1000s.
https://simpleflying.com/rolls-royce-usa...-contract/
https://www.sncorp.com/news-archive/in-t...day-fleet/
It was announced this week that Rolls Royce will be a subcontractor for the program, suggesting that the aircraft will get new engines, possibly allowing for the use of SAFs going forward, certainly to increase the available electrical power for the mission systems required. The aircraft currently have GE GEnx-2B engines. With Rolls Royce being a subcontractor the aircraft could see those changed to RB211 variants, or even Trent 1000s.
https://simpleflying.com/rolls-royce-usa...-contract/
Logic is dead. Long live BS.
