There are some strategic complexes that you really don't want to test in practice. Of course, this does not apply to air command posts as much as intercontinental ballistic missiles or submarine ballistic missiles. But still…
Let us remind you that “Doomsday planes” should play the role of havens for military-political leadership in the event of a nuclear war. From their side, you can command both individual units and entire branches of the armed forces.
How was the fate of old cars? Despite the formal and actual end of the Cold War, no one is in a hurry to write off the planes of the “doomsday”. One of the reasons for this is the residual phenomena of the confrontation between the USA and the USSR. And also the growing confrontation between the United States and China: not so much ideological as economic.
One of the fruits of this confrontation is the continued capacity building of the US Air Force. Recall that now the United States has already modernized almost all of its fourth generation fighters and even partially switched to a new generation - the fifth. New tanker aircraft and even a completely new "strategist" are on the way. What remains is the modernization of the old fleet of Boeing E-4 air command posts. Recall that a total of four such aircraft were produced: one E-4B and three E-4A, which were later upgraded to version "B". Externally, the newer version was distinguished by the presence of a large fairing that covered the satellite antennas on top of the fuselage above the upper deck.
What plane will the USA have
The E-4B Nightwatch first flew on June 13, 1973 and went into service in 1974. We are talking about a special version of the passenger Boeing 747, which has three decks. The crew can reach 114 people.
In 2006, former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield announced that all E-4Bs would be decommissioned starting in 2009. However, this was not destined to come true. Already in 2015, the chief financier of the US Department of Defense, Mike McCord, filed an application with Congress, according to which both the air command posts and the presidential VC-25 "Air Force One" airliners (two of them produced in total) will receive modified communication equipment and will continue to carry out their service. …
Last year, the US Department of Defense announced a competition to modernize Boeing E-4B air command posts. The contractor will have to update the electronic equipment, install new software and new anti-aircraft missile defense systems. "This work covers: support / modernization of software / hardware systems for national communications and communications with nuclear forces (N2CS), flight support, technical support, support and modernization of N2CS systems, design of systems and modifications of N2CS", - reported in the American document.
However, new threats (primarily Russia and China) are pushing America to more and more decisive measures. In fact, the Americans have already launched a new program designed to find a replacement for the Boeing E-4B. In November, it became known that the US Air Force began searching for a new aviation command, control and communications center that will replace the E-4B: now the military department is requesting information from American manufacturers. An event will be held in February where they will be informed about the details of the selection of applicants under the new program.
The only thing that is known now is that they want to make a replacement for the E-4B and for the Boeing E-6 Mercury (the command and control aircraft of the US Navy, developed on the basis of the Boeing 707 airliner, created back in the 50s) on a single basis. This will unify many systems and subsystems and increase the efficiency of the complexes.
It is also known that the Air Force requested $ 16 million for research and development work in 2020. Starting from 2021, they want to increase funding to $ 100 million per year. Probably no one will undertake to calculate the total cost of the program now. It goes without saying that this will require a huge investment. However, the Pentagon has money. What about the likely adversaries of the United States?
What plane will Russia have
Apart from the United States, only the Russian Federation has a Doomsday plane. For the entire time, four Il-80 flying command posts and two Il-76SK were built, which are similar in equipment and tasks that they can solve. The Il-80 is based on the passenger Il-86, and the Il-76SK, as you might guess, is based on the Il-76 military transport aircraft.
In the spring of 2019, it became known that Russia was modernizing the Il-80 and Il-82 Doomsday planes. Then, we will remind, it became known that Russian specialists completed development work on the modernization of aircraft. Earlier, the research and production association Polet, which has extensive experience in this area, was chosen as the head enterprise. Recall that this is one of the largest machine-building enterprises in the modern Russian Federation. It specializes in aviation and rocket and space technology.
The modernization will only affect the internal components of the aircraft: the modified aircraft will become the second generation of air command posts. The third generation will be based on a new platform - it should be a modified Il-96-400 airliner. In 2016, it became known about the completion of the draft technical design. As then stated in the United Instrument-Making Corporation, the developers are expecting what decision will be taken by the officials of the Ministry of Defense. In case of a positive decision, the aircraft manufacturers promised a car that would fully meet all the necessary requirements.
However, there are also more "original" ideas. For example, an air command post can be created on the basis of the Mi-38 multipurpose helicopter. According to Deputy Defense Minister Alexei Krivoruchko, the Polyot research and production enterprise can play a leading role in this direction: the corresponding work can begin as early as 2019. Let us recall, by the way, that quite recently the Russian Ministry of Defense received the first Mi-38T helicopter, and the second one should be handed over by the end of the year. In general, Russia, albeit with a great "creak", still brings the not the most advanced helicopter to working order. In the absence of other new cars of this class, perhaps not the worst option.
As for the air command post, the helicopter, of course, will not be able to replace the winged vehicle either in range or in other capabilities. But hypothetically, it will be able to supplement the second generation of the VKP based on the Il-80 and Il-76SK and the third generation based on the Il-96.
