The company in charge of the new American ‘Doomsday plane’ buys five Boeing 747 passengers

(CNN) — That coach-class seat you once occupied while flying in Asia may one day be the same seat that controls America’s nuclear weapons arsenal.

And it is that the five Boeing 747 passengers operated in its time by the South Korean flag company Korean Air have been acquired by Sierra Nevada Corporation, contractor of the US Air Force’s existing fleet of strategic military command and control aircraft, the better. Is known as ‘Doomsday’ planes

Also known as the E-4B “Nightwatch”, ‘Doomsday’ aircraft are designed as command and control centers for the US armed forces in the event of a national emergency, including ground command facilities such as nuclear war. .

They could be like a Pentagon in the sky, which would include the US President, the Secretary of Defense and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, plus more than 100 other people, who have the ability to control US forces around the world. But according to an Air Force fact sheet, the aircraft.

These aircraft are built to withstand the effects of an electromagnetic pulse, a burst of energy released from a nuclear explosion that can “permanently disrupt and damage electrical components and entire systems within most critical infrastructure areas.” and could impact infrastructure on a large scale.” According to the US Department of Homeland Security.

At least one ‘Doomsday’ plane is on permanent alert at a US military base somewhere in the world, according to the Air Force.

A spokesman for Colorado-based Sierra Nevada confirmed the purchase of the Korean Air planes but declined to provide further details.

However, on April 26, the Air Force awarded a US$13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada for the development and production of the Air Survivability Operations Center, the official name of the new ‘Doomsday’ aircraft. According to a statement from the Defense Department, the project should be completed in 2036.

Last year, Sierra Nevada opened a 100,000-square-foot aircraft repair, maintenance and overhaul facility at Dayton, Ohio International Airport, and has already begun construction on a second hangar of similar size.

A photo of the Dayton facility shows a 747-800 inside.

The 747-800 in the current ‘Doomsday’ fleet are an upgrade from the older and smaller 747-200, which entered service in the 1980s.

Earlier this week, Korean Air announced the sale of five of its aircraft to Sierra Nevada for US$675 million. The decision to sell the aircraft is part of a “medium and long-term plan to introduce new aircraft”, the airline said in a statement, adding that it expects the deal to be completed before September 30, 2025.

According to its website, Korean Air had nine 747-800 airliners in its fleet as of October 2023.

CNN’s Yunjung Seo contributed to this report.