The Air Force has awarded Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) based in Sparks, Nevada a $13 billion contract. The win is a major victory for the firm in a competition that saw the surprise elimination of aerospace giant Boeing.

What is a Doomsday Plane? It’s a class of aircraft the United States uses as an Airborne Command Post in an event of nuclear war, disaster or other large scale conflict that threatens key military and government infrastructure. In other words, these are flying war rooms staffed by dozens of military analysts, strategists and communication aides who would guide the president through the first days of a nuclear war.

Wherever Air Force One is in the world, an E-4B Doomsday plane isn't far away. There are four E-4B 'Nightwatch' planes in the fleet that are made up of specially modified Boeing 747s that follow the President of the United States, particularly when he goes overseas.

The planes are outfitted as complete command centers for the president and his top officials including the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the case of nuclear war or national emergency. These aircraft have unique capabilities that cannot be duplicated by any other aircraft that the Air Force uses.

The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) project is intended to replace the aging 1970s-era aircraft, which is approaching end-of-service life, an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement.

To satisfy operational requirements, the weapons system will comprise a commercial derivative jet hardened and modified to meet military requirements. Reuters in December reported that the U.S. Air Force eliminated Boeing from its competition to develop a successor to the E-4B Nightwatch.

While typically used to transport the U.S. secretary of defense, the E-4B is designed as a mobile command post capable of withstanding nuclear blasts and electromagnetic effects, allowing U.S. leaders to deliver orders to the military in the event of a national emergency.

Each “Doomsday Plane” is equipped with various communication tools. These consist of very low-frequency antenna that can be trailed up to five miles (8km) behind the aircraft while in flight. Super high-frequency and “Milstar” communications equipment are also housed on top of the aircraft’s fuselage within its distinctive dome or bulge.

According to the United States Space Force, “Milstar” is a “joint service satellite communications system that provides secure, jam-resistant, worldwide communications to meet essential wartime requirements for high-priority military users. The multi-satellite constellation links command authorities with a wide variety of resources, including ships, submarines, aircraft and ground stations”.

In essence, each of these technologies guarantees that they can communicate with armed units wherever in the world. Not just low- and high-frequency, but nearly all communication levels, from entirely open to private. Additionally, each aircraft has Internet access and the ability to communicate with anyone, anywhere via radio and telephone.

Information on exactly how the plane can withstand a nuclear attack is classified, but it is known that the computers and wiring onboard are hardened with thermal and nuclear shielding. The cockpit contains analog controls, and workstations are outfitted with hardwired phones and monitors designed to operate in the event of a nuclear electromagnetic pulse. There are no windows besides the cockpit to protect the communications system from the outside heat or an electromagnetic pulse.

Each aircraft has three main internal decks or floors. The “battle staff” are kept on the middle deck, and during times of crisis, officers from all the military services collaborate in the staff room on this floor. The main cabin includes a soundproof video conference room and a separate room where the Secretary of Defense can sleep.

Each officer is capable of acting in place of higher-level executives. When they work together, these guys understand the “big picture” of military operations. They are also familiar with the country’s current infrastructure, including its electricity grids.

They are also very knowledgeable about matters relating to national intelligence and can brief senior leaders on nearly anything, at least in theory.

Although dispersed throughout the aircraft, the operations crew is mainly found at the back of the aircraft. It’s interesting to note that some of these, primarily the controllers, are not just operators; they are also certified to fix and maintain any of the machinery they are required to utilize.

57 cases of “Meal, Ready-to-Eat” (MRE) are available for the team in case they feel hungry. There are 14 bunks on the plane that staff can use to sleep.

An area originally designed as a first-class lounge now contains six passenger seats and two sleeping bunks, which is used as a break area for the 12 aircraft mechanics who accompany each aging plane on every trip.

To ensure crew preparedness during lengthy operations, the crew will alternate between operating and resting. Pilots, communications specialists, navigators, flight engineers, and attendants make up crews. The battle staff makes up the remainder of the crew.

 Sierra Nevada Corporation is a trusted leader in solving the world's toughest challenges through best-of-breed, open architecture engineering in Space Systems, Commercial Solutions, and National Security and Defense. SNC is recognized among the most innovative U.S. companies in space.

SNC's 55-year legacy of state-of-the art civil, military and commercial solutions includes delivering more than 4,000 space systems, subsystems and components to customers worldwide, and participation in more than 450 missions to space, including Mars.

For example, The Dream Chaser, designed by SNC for NASA, is a reusable spacecraft , multi-mission space utility vehicle. It is capable of transportation services to and from low-Earth orbit and is the only commercial, lifting-body vehicle capable of a runway landing. The Dream Chaser Cargo System was selected by NASA to provide cargo delivery and disposal services to the International Space Station.

Sparks, Nevada-based Sierra Nevada Corporation is owned by husband and wife team, Fatih and Eren Ozmen, Turkish immigrants-turned-billionaires, who built once-struggling SNC into a multibillion-dollar defense and national security contractor.

Over a decade ago they saw an opportunity to begin investing in space capabilities and technology, personally betting - in much the same way as other deep-pocketed visionaries like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson have done — that a new private sector-led space economy could one day lift off.