USAF picks partner to enhance Nightwatch survivability
E-4B special mission aircraft to benefit from ‘new capabilities’, says Air Force
L3Harris Technologies has been selected by Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to implement survivable super high frequency (SSHF) upgrades to the E-4B Nightwatch special mission aircraft.
Work on the $23.84 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract will be performed at Salt Lake City, Utah and Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for completion by 18 April 2022.
L3Harris Technologies was one of 67 companies to bid on the contract.
The aim of the SSHF upgrade is to ‘build new capabilities that form the foundation for maintaining the E-4B as an effective nuclear C3 platform’, the DoD announced on 22 October.
The SSHF upgrade forms part of a broader process. Shephard Defence Insight notes that the four-aircraft E-4B fleet is going through an upgrade and maintenance process. The works include avionics, wiring, communication equipment and other components to ensure the platform remains in service beyond 2025.
Developed by Boeing and based on the B-747-200 commercial aircraft, the E-4B is a special mission aircraft used as the US National Airborne Operations Centre and is a key component of the National Military Command System for the President, Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In case of national emergency or destruction of ground C2 centres, it provides a survivable C3 centre to direct US forces, execute emergency war orders and coordinate actions by civil authorities.
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