WOEING: Boeing Exits Air Force’s ‘Doomsday Plane’ Competition.

In a surprising development in the program, Boeing has reportedly been dropped from the competition to build a successor to the U.S. Air Force’s E-4B Nightwatch ‘Doomsday Plane.’ If true, the latest move would appear to leave the door wide open for Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) to provide the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) that will supersede the E-4B, which is based on a Boeing 747-200 airframe. However, the new aircraft platform will almost certainly still be a Boeing product.

According to a recent report from Reuters, Boeing told the news agency that the Air Force has “eliminated” it from the SAOC competition. Valued at over $8 billion over the next five years, a contract award for SAOC is expected in early 2024.

The Air Force is staying mum on why Boeing was booted from the competition.