Sierra Nevada Corp. has won a $13 billion contract to develop a successor to the “Doomsday Plane,” the E-4B command and control aircraft on which the president would fly in in event of national emergency such as a nuclear attack,

The U.S. Air Force said on Friday that it has awarded a $13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane due to its ability to survive a nuclear war.

B, which the president would use to direct forces during nuclear war, is nearing the end of its life and will be replaced by the SAOC.

The US Air Force has awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) a $13 billion contract to deliver a replacement for the E-4B "Doomsday" plane, known as the

The win is a major victory for the firm in a competition that saw the surprise elimination of aerospace giant Boeing.

Officially known as the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, the new aircraft will replace the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch jet capable of commanding the USA's nuclear arsenal.

The U.S. Air Force said on Friday that it has awarded a contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane, due to its ability to survive a nuclear war. The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) project is intended to replace the aging 1970s-era aircraft,

The United States Air Force has awarded the Sierra Nevada Corporation a contract to develop a successor to the E-4B aircraft, widely known as the "doomsday plane" because of its resilience in a nuclear conflict.

The Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft will replace the USAF's highly specialized 747-based E-4B strategic command post jets.