The replacement for the aging planes, still at least half a decade away, has for years lost out to internal budget battles that tend to favor shiny new fighter jets and bombers
Inside a military aircraft designed to survive a nuclear war, an area once used as a first class lounge now contains six blue passenger seats next to two sleeping bunks.
And as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens nuclear war over Western allies’ response to his invasion of Ukraine, these flying fallout shelters are more relevant than they’ve been in a generation. Before reporters were led on board, military personnel removed a suite of highly classified communications systems. Guests were then escorted into “Gordo 14,” the callsign for this plane for the day. Unlike other Air Force aircraft, the E-4Bs’ nicknames change for each flight.
It was a beautiful late spring day over the Midwest as Gordo 14 took off, but there wasn’t much of a view. There are no windows, and no natural light anywhere in the plane aside from the cockpit. It’s all to protect the communications system from outside heat, or an electromagnetic pulse, said Col. Brian Golden, National Airborne Operations Center and 595th Command and Control Group chief.
“It was fun when I was there with my kids and I was like, hey, look this is literally the inside of the airplane that I fly,” Amaral said.The Air Force says it wants to take these planes out of the sky within the next 10 years, but it still hasn’t announced what it would replace them with. Golden said to expect a solicitation in the fall, and the fiscal 2023 budget request sets aside $203 million to award contracts next year.
But that plane is becoming a relic, too; in January 2021, Boeing received its final order for the 747-800. There is widespread agreement that it’s time to replace the E-4B fleet, but the project needs powerful supporters on Capitol Hill because the cost will appear “incredibly expensive” due to the communications gear required for the aircraft, Birkey said.The Air Force does have a champion in Sen.Sen. Deb Fischer is seen as a champion in trying to replace the E-4B aircrafts.
The E-4B “has served us well for decades, but it’s time to replace it. Russia’s reckless attack on Ukraine is a reminder that there’s no time to lose,” Bacon told POLITICO in a statement. The Air Force also wants to improve the E-4B’s communications systems, setting aside $25 million in the fiscal year 2023 budget request. One of the projects is the Survivable Super High Frequency, built by L3Harris, that will replace portions of the E-4B’s aging jam-resistant secure communications system.
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