Two of the original 747-200 airframes were originally planned to be commercial airliners. When the airline did not complete the order, Boeing offered the airframes to the United States Air Force as part of a package leading to a replacement for the older EC-135J National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP). Under the 481B NEACP program the Air Force Electronic Systems Division awarded Boeing a contract in February 1973 for two unequipped aircraft, designated E-4A, powered by four P&W JT9D engines, to which a third aircraft was added in July 1973. The first E-4A was completed at the Boeing plant outside Seattle, Washington in 1973. E-Systems won the contract to install interim equipment in these three aircraft, and the first completed E-4A was delivered in July 1973 to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. The next two were delivered in October 1973 and October 1974.[citation needed] The third E-4 differed by being powered by the GE F103 engine, which was later made standard and retrofitted to the previous two aircraft. The A-model effectively housed the same equipment as the EC-135, but offered more space and an ability to remain aloft longer than an EC-135.[4]
In November 1973, it was reported that the program cost was estimated to total $548million (equivalent to $3.61billion in 2022) for seven 747s, with six as operational command posts and one more for research and development.[5]
In December 1973, a fourth aircraft was ordered; it was fitted with more advanced equipment, resulting in the designation E-4B. On 21 December 1979, Boeing delivered the first E-4B (AF Serial Number 75-0125),[4] which was distinguished from the earlier version by the presence of a large streamlined radome on the dorsal surface directly behind the upper deck. This contains the aircraft's SHF satellite antenna.[6]
By January 1985, all three E-4As had been retrofitted to E-4B models.[4] The E-4B offered a vast increase in communications capability over the previous model and was considered to be 'hardened' against the effects of nuclear electromagnetic pulse (EMP) from a nuclear explosion. Hardening the aircraft meant that all equipment and wiring on board was shielded from EMP.[1]
In 2005, the Air Force awarded Boeing a five-year, US$2billion contract (equivalent to $3billion in 2022) for the continued upgrade of the E-4B fleet.[7] In addition to the purchase and upgrade costs, the E-4 costs nearly $160,000 per hour (equivalent to $195,097in 2022) for the Air Force to operate.[8] The E-4B fleet had an estimated unit cost of approximately US$223.2million each in 2024.[1]
Design
National Emergency Airborne Command Post internal configuration, April 1976
The E-4B is designed to survive an EMP with systems intact[9] and has state-of-the-art direct fire countermeasures. Although many older aircraft have been upgraded with glass cockpits, the E-4B still uses traditional analog flight instruments, as they are less susceptible to damage from an EMP blast.[10]
The E-4B is capable of operating with a crew up to 112 people including flight and mission personnel,[1] the largest crew of any aircraft in US Air Force history. With in-flight aerial refueling it is capable of remaining airborne for a considerable period, limited only by consumption of the engines' lubricants. In a test flight for endurance, the aircraft remained airborne and fully operational for 35.4 hours; however, it was designed to remain airborne for a full week in the event of an emergency.[11] It takes two fully loaded KC-135 tankers to fully refuel an E-4B. The E-4B has three operational decks: upper, middle, and lower.[citation needed]
The flight deck contains stations for the pilot, co-pilot, and flight engineer, plus a special navigation station not normally found on commercial Boeing 747s. A lounge area and sleeping quarters for flight and maintenance crews are located aft of the flight deck. The flight crew consists of an aircraft commander, co-pilot, navigator, and flight engineer.[citation needed]
The middle deck contains the conference room, which provides a secure area for conferences and briefings. It contains a conference table for nine people. Aft of the conference room is a projection room serving the conference room and the briefing room. The projection room had the capability of projecting computer graphics, overhead transparencies, or 35mm slides to the conference room and/or the briefing room but has since been modernized with flat screen displays.[12]
The battle staff includes various controllers, planners, launch system officers, communications operators, a weather officer, administrative and support personnel, and a chief of battle staff. The Operation Looking Glass missions were commanded by a general officer with two staff officers, while the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC) may rendezvous and embark a member of the National Command Authority (NCA) from an undisclosed location. There are at least 48 crew aboard any E-4B mission.[citation needed]
Behind the briefing room is the operations team area containing the automatic data processing equipment and seats and console work areas for 29 staff members. The consoles are configured to provide access to or from the automated data processing, automatic switchboard, direct access telephone and radio circuits, direct ("hot") lines, monitor panel for switchboard lines, staff, and operator inter-phone and audio recorder.[citation needed]
The aft compartment at the end of the main deck is the Technical Control (Tech Control) area. This area was the nerve center for all communications and communications technicians. Typically 3 of the 6 crew positions were occupied here by specialized US Air Force technicians that were responsible for the proper monitoring and distribution of all communications power, cooling, and reliability. The Technical Controller No. 1 (Tech 1, TC1) was the direct interface with the aircraft Flight Engineer and Flight Crew. This position was also the main focal point for all communications related issues. The Technical Controller No. 2 (Tech 2, TC2) was responsible for maintaining all ultra high frequency communications between the aircraft and the Nightwatch GEP (Ground Entry Points). These GEP's provided 12 voice lines to the aircraft which were used in the day-to-day operations of the mission. Secure Voice was also provided. The SHF Operator (or technician) maintained the SHF satellite link and provided other worldwide communications services probably having replaced a lot of the UHF capabilities.[citation needed]
The rest area, which occupies the remaining portion of the aft main deck, provides a rest and sleeping area for the crew members. The rest area contains storage for food[12] and is also used for religious ceremonies.
Within the forward entry area is the main galley unit and stairways to the flight deck and to the forward lower equipment area. This area contains refrigerators, freezers, two convection ovens, and a microwave oven to give stewards the capability to provide more than 100 hot meals during prolonged missions. Additionally, four seats are located on the left side of the forward entry area for the security guards and the stewards.[citation needed]
Behind the forward entry area is the National Command Authority (NCA) area, which is designed and furnished as an executive suite. It contains an office, a lounge, a sleeping area, and a dressing room. Telephone instruments in this area provide the NCA with secure and clear worldwide communications.[citation needed]
The briefing room contains a briefing table with three executive seats, eighteen additional seats, a lectern, and two 80-inch flat screen LED monitors flush mounted to the partition.[citation needed]
The communications control area is divided into a voice area and a data area. The voice area, located on the right side of the compartment, contains the radio operator's console, the semi-automatic switchboard console, and the communication officer's console. The data area, located on the left side of the area, contains the record communications console, record data supervisor's console, high speed DATA/AUTODIN/AFSAT console, and LF/VLF control heads. The E-4B can communicate with the ground over a wide range of frequencies covering virtually the entire radio communications spectrum from 14kHz to 8.4GHz. Ground stations can link the E-4B into the main US ground-based communications network.[citation needed]
The flight avionics area contains the aircraft systems power panels, flight avionics equipment, liquid oxygen converters, and storage for baggage and spare parts.[citation needed]
Lower lobe
The forward lower equipment room contains the aircraft's water supply tanks, 1200 kVA electrical power panels, step-down transformers, VLF transmitter, and SHF SATCOM equipment. An AC/DC powered hydraulic retractable airstair is located in the forward right side of the forward lower equipment area, installed for airplane entry and exit. In the event of an emergency, the airstair can be jettisoned. The aft lower lobe contains the maintenance console and mission specific equipment.[citation needed]
The lower trailing wire antenna (TWA) area contains the aircraft's 5-mile-long (8.0km) TWA reel—which is used by up to 13 communications links—the antenna operator's station, as well as the antenna reel controls and indicators. Much attention has been given to hardening this area against EMP, especially as the TWA, essential for communicating with Ohio-classballistic missile submarines, is also particularly effective in picking up EMP.[citation needed]
The E-4 fleet was originally deployed in 1974,[1] when it was termed National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) (often pronounced "kneecap"). The aircraft was to provide a survivable platform to conduct war operations in the event of a nuclear attack. Early in the E-4's service, the media dubbed the aircraft as "the doomsday planes".[5] The E-4 was also capable of operating the "Looking Glass" missions of the Strategic Air Command (SAC).[13]
The aircraft were originally stationed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, so that the U.S. president and secretary of defense could access them quickly in the event of an emergency. The name "Nightwatch" originates from the richly detailed Rembrandt painting, The Night Watch, that depicts local townsfolk protecting a town; it was selected by the Squadron's first commanding officer. Later, the aircraft were moved to Offutt Air Force Base where they would be safer from attack. Until 1994, one E-4B was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base at all times so the President could easily board it in times of world crisis.
The NEACP aircraft originally used the static call sign "Silver Dollar"; this call sign faded from use when daily call signs were put in use. When a President boards the E-4, its call sign becomes "Air Force One". The E-4B also serves as the Secretary of Defense's preferred means of transportation when traveling outside the U.S.[14] The spacious interior and sophisticated communications capability provided by the aircraft allow the Secretary's senior staff to work for the duration of the mission.
With the adoption of two highly modified Boeing 747-200Bs (Air Force designation VC-25A) to serve as Air Force One in 1989 and the end of the Cold War, the need for NEACP diminished. In 1994, NEACP began to be known as NAOC, and it took on a new responsibility: ferrying Federal Emergency Management Agency crews to natural disaster sites and serving as a temporary command post on the ground until facilities could be built on site. Evidently no E-4B was employed during the Hurricane Katrina disaster of 2005, though one E-4B was used by FEMA following Hurricane Opal in 1995.[15]
One E-4B is kept on alert at all times. The "cocked" or "on alert" E-4B is crewed 24 hours a day with the watch crew on board guarding all communications systems awaiting a launch order (klaxon launch). Those crew members not on watch would be in the alert barracks, gymnasium, or at other base facilities.[1] The 24-hour alert status at Andrews AFB ended when President Clinton ordered the aircraft to remain at Offutt unless needed, though relief crews remain based at Andrews and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
On 11 September 2001, an aircraft closely resembling an E-4B was spotted and filmed orbiting the Washington, D.C. area by news outlets and civilians, after the attack on the Pentagon.[16][17] In his book Black Ice, Dan Verton identifies this aircraft as an E-4B taking part in an operational exercise, and the exercise was canceled when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.[18] Air traffic control recordings and radar data indicate this E-4B call sign VENUS77 became airborne just before 9:44am, circled north of the White House during its climb, and then tracked to the south of Washington, D.C., where it entered a holding pattern.[19][20][21] In 2008 Brent Scowcroft explained that he was on this plane to go on an inspection tour to one unspecified nuclear weapons site as chairman of a DoD team called "End to End review".[22]
In January 2006, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announced a plan to retire the entire E-4B fleet starting in 2009. This was reduced to retiring one of the aircraft in February 2007.[23] Rumsfeld's successor, Robert Gates, reversed this decision in May 2007.[24] This is due to the unique capabilities of the E-4B, which cannot be duplicated by any other single aircraft in Air Force service, and the cancellation in 2007 of the E-10 MC2A, which was considered as a successor to the EC-135 and E-8 aircraft, and could also perform many of the same tasks of the E-4B.[citation needed] As of the 2015 federal budget there were no plans for retiring the E-4B. The E-4B airframe has a usable life of 115,000 hours and 30,000 cycles, which would be reached in 2039; the maintenance limiting point would occur sometime in the 2020s.[25]
When the President travels outside of North America using a VC-25A as Air Force One, an E-4B will deploy to a second airport in the vicinity of the President's destination, to be readily available in the event of a world crisis or an emergency that renders the VC-25A unusable.[citation needed] When President Barack Obama visited Honolulu, Hawaii, an E-4B was often stationed 200 miles away at Hilo International Airport on Hawaii Island.[27][28]
In June 2017, two of the aircraft were damaged by a tornado that struck Offutt AFB, having been struck by falling debris after the tornado damaged the hangar the aircraft were stationed in. They were out of service for eleven weeks while repairs took place.[29][30] The E-4B aircraft have been based at the nearby Lincoln Air National Guard Base three times: 2006, then 2019 during the Missouri flood, and 2021–22 subsequent runway replacement.[31]
Three aircraft produced (s/n 73-1676, 73-1677, and 74-0787), powered by Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7A (first two aircraft) or General Electric CF6-50E2 (third aircraft) turbofan engines. No bulge to house equipment on top of fuselage.[35] These were later converted to E-4Bs.[1]
E-4B
One built (s/n 75-0125) and equipped with 52,500lbf (234kN) CF6-50E2 engines. Has nuclear electromagnetic pulse protection, nuclear and thermal effects shielding, advanced electronics, and a wide variety of communications equipment.[35][1][36]
Specifications (E-4B)
Data from USAF Fact Sheet,[1] Boeing 747-200 specifications[37]
General characteristics
Crew: 4
Capacity: up to 108 mission crew
Length: 231ft 4in (70.51m)
Wingspan: 195ft 8in (59.64m)
Height: 63ft 5in (19.33m)
Wing area: 5,500sqft (510m2)
Airfoil:root: BAC 463 to BAC 468; tip: BAC 469 to BAC 474[38]
The E-4B plays a prominent role in two motion pictures. In the 1990 HBO film By Dawn's Early Light, following a nuclear strike by the Soviets, the aircraft serves as a flying platform for the presumed president, the ex–Secretary of the Interior, who is played by Darren McGavin. The aircraft is pursued by a Boeing EC-135 "Looking Glass", which successfully intercepts it. In the 2002 motion picture The Sum of All Fears, the president and his staff travel on an E-4B following the detonation of a nuclear weapon by terrorists. In the novel, the Vice President and his family are aboard the NEACP after terrorists detonate a nuclear bomb in Denver while the President and his National Security Advisor are stuck at Camp David during a blinding snowstorm.
National Geographic produced a television special on doomsday planning of the U.S. which includes footage from inside an E-4 during a drill.[10]
The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS. Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-weather surveillance, command, control, and communications, and is used by the United States Air Force, NATO, French Air and Space Force, Royal Saudi Air Force and Chilean Air Force. The E-3 has a distinctive rotating radar dome (rotodome) above the fuselage. Production ended in 1992 after 68 aircraft had been built.
The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System is a retired United States Air Force (USAF) airborne ground surveillance, battle management and command and control aircraft. It tracks ground vehicles and some aircraft, collects imagery, and relays tactical pictures to ground and air theater commanders. The aircraft was operated by both active duty USAF and Air National Guard units and also carried specially trained U.S. Army personnel as additional flight crew until its retirement in 2023.
The OC-135B Open Skies is a United States Air Force observation aircraft that supports the Treaty on Open Skies. The aircraft, a modified WC-135B, flies unarmed observation flights over participating parties of the treaty. Three OC-135B aircraft were modified by the Aeronautical Systems Center's 4950th Test Wing at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The first operationally-capable OC-135B was assigned to the 24th Reconnaissance Squadron at Offutt AFB in October 1993. It is now fitted with a basic set of navigational and sensor equipment, and was placed in inviolate storage at the Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Center at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, Arizona in 1997. Two fully operational OC-135B aircraft were delivered in 1996 with the full complement of treaty-allowed sensors, which includes an infrared line scanner, synthetic aperture radar and video scanning sensors.
The Boeing RC-135 is a family of large reconnaissance aircraft built by Boeing and modified by a number of companies, including General Dynamics, Lockheed, LTV, E-Systems, and L3 Technologies, and used by the United States Air Force and Royal Air Force to support theater and national level intelligence consumers with near real-time on-scene collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities.
Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing of the Air Combat Command (ACC), the latter serving as the host unit.
The Boeing E-6 Mercury is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707-300. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, replacing the EC-130Q. This platform, now modified to the E-6B standard, conveys instructions from the National Command Authority to fleet ballistic missile submarines, a mission known as TACAMO.
TACAMO is a United States military system of survivable communications links designed to be used in nuclear warfare to maintain communications between the decision-makers and the triad of strategic nuclear weapon delivery systems. Its primary mission is serving as a signals relay, where it receives orders from a command plane such as Operation Looking Glass, and verifies and retransmits their Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) to US strategic forces. As it is a dedicated communications post, it features the ability to communicate on virtually every radio frequency band from very low frequency (VLF) up through super high frequency (SHF) using a variety of modulations, encryptions and networks, minimizing the likelihood an emergency message will be jammed by an enemy. This airborne communications capability largely replaced the land-based extremely low frequency (ELF) broadcast sites which became vulnerable to nuclear strike.
The Boeing C-32 is the United States Air Force designation for variants of the Boeing 757 in military service. Two variants exist, filling different parts of the military passenger transport role. The C-32A serves the Special Air Mission, providing executive transport and broad communications capabilities to senior political officials, while the C-32B Gatekeeper provides clandestine airlift to special operations and global emergency response efforts, a role known as "covered air".
Lincoln Airport is a joint public/military airport five miles (8.0 km) northwest of downtown Lincoln, the state capital, in Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States. It is owned by the Lincoln Airport Authority and is the second-largest airport in Nebraska. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027 in which it is categorized as a non-hub primary commercial service facility. It has four gates with jetways, to be, as of February 2022, expanded to six.
The 55th Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Combat Command. The wing is primarily stationed at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, but maintains one of its groups and associated squadrons at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, as a geographically separated unit.
Doomsday plane is an unofficial denomination of a class of aircraft which is used as an airborne command post in an event of nuclear war, disaster or other large scale conflict that threatens key military and government infrastructure.
The Ilyushin Il-80 is a Russian airborne command and control aircraft modified from the Ilyushin Il-86 airliner.
The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter. During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command post for the Strategic Air Command in the event of nuclear war. Various other EC-135 aircraft sat on airborne and ground alert throughout the Cold War, with the last EC-135C being retired in 1998. The EC-135N variant served as the tracking aircraft for the Apollo program.
Looking Glass is the historic code name for an airborne command and control center operated by the United States. In more recent years it has been more officially referred to as the ABNCP. It provides command and control of U.S. nuclear forces in the event that ground-based command centers have been destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable. In such an event, the general officer aboard the Looking Glass serves as the Airborne Emergency Action Officer (AEAO) and by law assumes the authority of the National Command Authority and could command execution of nuclear attacks. The AEAO is supported by a battle staff of approximately 20 people, with another dozen responsible for the operation of the aircraft systems. The name Looking Glass, which is another name for a mirror, was chosen for the Airborne Command Post because the mission operates in parallel with the underground command post at Offutt Air Force Base.
The 1st Airborne Command Control Squadron is part of the 595th Command and Control Group at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. It operates the Boeing E-4 aircraft conducting airborne command and control missions.
The Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) was a network of communication sites for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authority would retain exclusive and complete control over US nuclear weapons. Among other components, it included Strategic Air Command assets such as the Looking Glass aircraft and mission, and various hardened command and control facilities.
The Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) provides a survivable launch capability for the United States Air Force's LGM-30G Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) force. The ALCS is operated by airborne missileers from Air Force Global Strike Command's (AFGSC) 625th Strategic Operations Squadron (STOS) and United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). The system is located on board the United States Navy's E-6B Mercury, which serves as USSTRATCOM's "Looking Glass" Airborne Command Post (ABNCP). The ALCS crew is integrated into the ABNCP battle staff and is on alert around the clock.
Operation Silk Purse was the United States' airborne nuclear command and control mission for the European theater of operations from 1961 through 1994.
The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) is a United States Air Force program to develop a replacement for the E-4 National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC), a strategic command-and-control military aircraft used as a mobile command post for the National Command Authority in emergency situations. The current E-4 platforms were built in the 1970s, the airframes are reaching the end of their operational lifespans and support costs are increasing. Because of this, in 2019, the USAF began a program to develop a new platform. This program will take several years to complete, and the E-4s will continue to fulfill the role in the meantime.
The Lockheed E-XX is a planned United States Navy aircraft based on the EC-130J and intended to replace the Boeing E-6 Mercury in the TACAMO role, communicating with US nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The current E-6 aircraft were built in the late 1980s, and while they are expected to fly into the 2030s, the underlying platform is aging and support costs are increasing. Because of this, in 2020, the Navy began a program to develop a new platform. This program will take several years to complete, and the E-6 will continue to fulfill the role in the meantime.
↑ Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft: America and the World. Conversations on the future of American Foreign Policy. Basic Books, New York NY 2008, ISBN978-0-465-01501-6.
Bowers, Peter M. Boeing Aircraft since 1916. London: Putnam, 1989. ISBN0-85177-804-6.
Francillon, René J. "Doomsday 747s: The National Airborne Operations Center". Air International, December 2008. Key Publishing, Syamford, Lincs, UK. pp.32–37.
Haverlah, Jeff (2005). "Nightwatch Outline". Worldwide Ute News Club (WUN). Retrieved 28 December 2013.
Jenkins, Dennis R. Boeing 747-100/200/300/SP (AirlinerTech Series, Vol. 6). Specialty Press, 2000. ISBN1-58007-026-4.
Lloyd, Alwin T., A Cold War Legacy: A Tribute to Strategic Air Command- 1946–1992. Missoula, Montana, United States: Pictorial Histories Publications Company, 1999. ISBN978-1-57510-052-4.
Michell, Simon. Jane's Civil and Military Upgrades 1994–95. Coulsden, Surrey, UK: Jane's Information Group, 1994. ISBN0-7106-1208-7.
Tyler, Tim (1995). "Who are the Nightwatch stations?"(PDF). Special Topic Report. Worldwide Ute News Club (WUN). Retrieved 28 December 2013.
Verton, Dan (2003). Black Ice: The Invisible Threat of Cyber-Terrorism. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN978-0-07-222787-1.
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