The world’s second most important Boeing 747 cannot be replaced by another jumbo because its manufacturer is out of the running.
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The largest aircraft manufacturer in the United States has been eliminated from competition to replace the E4B Nightwatch aircraft, nicknamed the “Doomsday Plane.” This heavily modified 747200 is a mobile military command center and always accompanies the American Secretary of Defense on trips.
From there it is possible to coordinate the start of a war or retaliation for an attack, including the use of aircraft carriers, nuclear weapons and tactical bombers. For this reason, it is called the “doomsday plane,” since its actual use is usually in a nuclear war where the landing site is not safe or the ground command post has been compromised.
The aircraft was always delivered by Boeing in the form of 4 units of the 747200 in 1973 to replace the EC135J, another aircraft from the manufacturer modified on the basis of the KC135 for the air command role (project 367). 80, from which the 707 passenger emerged).
This tradition is now broken as the US Air Force (USAF) has eliminated Boeing from the competition and only SNC Sierra Nevada Corporation remains in the offering.
SNC is known to some Brazilians as Embraer’s partner in assembling the A29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft on American territory, which opened new markets for the Brazilian aircraft, which even flew in Afghanistan.
According to sources told Portal, Boeing did not want to follow the USAF’s terms of the contract if selected, particularly the issue of fixed contract value.
In recent years, Boeing has faced sharp criticism from the market and the military for delays and increased costs on the KC46 (Boeing 767200 aerial refueling) and the new Air Force One (Presidential Boeing 7478) projects. . The latter has already been renegotiated by Donald Trump and since the budget cap has been reached, Boeing will have to spend its own money to fulfill the contract.
As this is a tender process and there is a stricter confidentiality agreement, the details of the proposals are never revealed and only the winner and the expected level of expenditure are communicated.
Therefore, it cannot be said that Boeing offered the USAF the latest jumbo, the 7478, especially since production has already stopped, but it would be the most likely hypothesis alongside the 777.
Likewise, SNC’s proposal is not known to the public, and since the company does not produce its own aircraft, it could even involve the use of an aircraft from Boeing or even Airbus.
Even though there is only a single competitor in the race, the USAF will not announce the winner of the event until next year. It is also not uncommon for the military to cancel the competition and/or change the requirements until the final stages.
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