GE Aerospace will overhaul and upgrade the GEnx-2B engines that power the Boeing 747-8I aircraft that will be converted into the US Air Force’s Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC).
“This is a multi-year effort supporting a critical national security asset,” says Amy Gowder, president and chief executive of Defense & Systems at GE Aerospace.
“The GEnx engine brings proven performance and reliability that will be beneficial to this unique aircraft and we look forward to being part of this important program.”
In April, Sierra Nevada Corporation secured the $13 billion SAOC contract to replace the USAF’s 747-200 derived E-4B Nightwatch aircraft. The aircraft’s mission is commanding the USA’s nuclear arsenal from aloft.
The contract is worth $13 billion to Sierra Nevada, with work expected to be complete by 2036.
In May SNC announced that it had reached an agreement to obtain five aircraft from Korean Air. This followed a stock exchange filing from Korean Air that it had sold five aircraft to SNC for W918 billion ($675 million), with the sale to be completed by the end of September 2025.
Cirium fleets data indicates that Korean Air operates eight 747-8Is, of which five are managed by the carrier. The average age of the fleet is 8.3 years.
