Aerospace and defense company Sierra Nevada Corp. is buying five Korean Air jets just two weeks after it secured a multibillion-dollar contract from the U.S. Air Force. The Sparks, Nevada-based company inked a deal with Korean Air to buy five 747-8 planes,

The E-4 is the President’s survivable, mobile command post in the event of a nuclear war or other serious conflict. The USAF has a $13B contract for a new one.

The U.S. Air Force said on Friday that it has awarded a $13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane due to its ability to survive a nuclear war.

The US Air Force has given Sierra Nevada a $13 billion contract to develop a new “Doomsday plane” – essentially, a successor to the Boeing E-4B. The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) project will replace the aging aircraft fleet, which entered service in the 1970s.

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.

The win is a major victory for the firm in a competition that saw the surprise elimination of aerospace giant Boeing.

The U.S. Air Force said Friday that it has awarded a $13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane due to its ability to survive a nuclear war.

B, which the president would use to direct forces during nuclear war, is nearing the end of its life and will be replaced by the SAOC.

The U.S. Air Force awarded a $13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada Corp. to develop a successor to the E-4B, known as the Doomsday plane, due to its ability to survive a nuclear war.