09-0016 & 17. Texans beware.
That first pic settles it. Airbag was deployed.
DEFENSE
Time is ticking to replace the Pentagon’s 1970s-era Doomsday planes
Built to survive a nuclear attack, these Air Force aircraft are expected to fly well past their 50th birthday.
By LEE HUDSON
05/29/2022 07:00 AM EDT
ABOARD AN E-4B DOOMSDAY PLANE — Inside a military aircraft designed to survive a nuclear war, an area once used as a first class lounge now contains six blue passenger seats next to two sleeping bunks.
Maj. Ted DeBonis, maintenance squadron commander, says it’s a break area for the 12 aircraft mechanics who accompany the plane on every hop, waiting to fix it anywhere in the world.
It’s an unusual setup for a military aircraft. But a flying maintenance hangar is the kind of thing you need when you’re operating a plane that’s been around since the Carter administration.
This wide-body jumbo jet, tail number 75-1025, is one of four Boeing 747-200s that are custom-made to keep the government operating in the event of an infrastructure-shattering nuclear war. Commonly referred to as the “Doomsday planes,” these E-4B Nightwatch aircraft typically fly the defense secretary or the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff around the world.
And as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens nuclear war over Western allies’ response to his invasion of Ukraine, these flying fallout shelters are more relevant than they’ve been in a generation.
Yet the planes are showing their age. And the replacement, still at least half a decade away, has for years lost out to internal budget battles that tend to favor shiny new fighter jets and bombers.
Even if the replacement program gets all the money the Air Force is requesting this year, the new planes won’t be delivered until 2027, meaning the existing aircraft will need to fly well past their 50th birthday.
It’s a situation that has experts and defense industry advocacy groups on edge.
“[The Air Force and Congress] need to get very real about this recapitalization,” said Douglas Birkey, executive director at Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, “or they will see some very severe risks adopted that shouldn’t be.”
moar at:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/29/pentagon-replace-doomsday-plane-00034686