# Survivable Airborne Operations Center — Program Element 0604288F

**Program element:** 0604288F  
**Component:** U.S. Air Force  
**Appropriation:** 3600 — RDT&E, Air Force  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0604288F

## Summary

U.S. Air Force funding ramps 23% to a $2.22B request in FY2027. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators cut 1.6% (to $2.18B). Sierra Nevada leads the industry work.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 0.0 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 1,801.3 |
| FY2027 | Request | 2,218.9 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 2,518.8 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 2,710.1 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 1,889.3 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 1,352.6 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 2,218.9 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 2,218.9 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 2,218.9 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 2,184.4 | −34.6 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 656507 | Survivable Airborne Operations Center | 0.0 | 1,801.3 | 2,218.9 | +23% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project 656507 — Survivable Airborne Operations Center

The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), E-4C, replaces the aging E-4B fleet, which faces capability gaps, diminishing manufacturing sources, increased maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence as it approaches the end of its serviceable life. SAOC provides the President of the United States (POTUS), the Secretary of War (SECWAR), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) a worldwide, survivable, and enduring node of the National Military Command System (NMCS) to fulfill national security requirements throughout all stages of conflict. As a command, control and communications center directing US forces, executing emergency war orders and coordinating the activities of civil authorities including national contingency plans, this capability ensures continuity of operations and continuity of government as required in a national emergency or after negation/destruction of ground command and control centers. SAOC fulfills the requirements of the Air Force (AF) Nuclear Mission by providing Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) capabilities to enable the exercise of authority and direction by the President to command-and control US military nuclear weapons operations. Program funding supports all activities required to execute development of the SAOC Weapon System to include system development, integration of NC3 and other Department of War (DoW) AF programs into the SAOC weapon system, test activities, pre-operational product support, and Interim Contractor Support (ICS). Funds also support program office operations, management services (Federally Funded Research and Development Centers [FFRDC], Advisory and Assistance Services [A&AS], etc.), Program Management Administration (PMA), security, facilities, prototyping, equipment, implementation of digital program initiatives, risk mitigation strategies, and other required program office capabilities. The FY 2026 spend plan amount for SAOC RDT&E includes $1,801,300 thousand of discretionary and $64,500 thousand of mandatory (reconciliation) for a total of $1,865,800 thousand. This program element included all necessary expenses required to manage, execute, and deliver weapon system capability. The use of such program funds would be in addition to the civilian pay expenses budgeted in program elements 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605833F, and 0605898F.

**Named R-3 performers** (share of this project's FY2027 R-3 total, so they need not reach 100%)**:** Sierra Nevada (2,066.1, 93%), Bedford, MA (35.0, 1.6%), Hanscom AFB, MA (5.6, 0.3%).

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAOC | 0.0 | 1,801.3 | 2,218.9 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Industry primes | 95% | 2,106.7 |
| Other / unspecified | 5.1% | 112.2 |

**Top named industry performers:** Sierra Nevada ($2.07B, 93%).

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), E-4C, replaces the aging E-4B fleet, which faces capability gaps, diminishing manufacturing sources, increased maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence as it approaches the end of its serviceable life. SAOC provides the President of the United States (POTUS), the Secretary of War (SECWAR), and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) a worldwide, survivable, and enduring node of the National Military Command System (NMCS) to fulfill national security requirements throughout all stages of conflict.

Based on the Acquisition Strategy approved by Under Secretary of War for Acquisition and Sustainment on 30 June 2022, SAOC entered the acquisition pathway at Milestone B on 25 April 2024. On 26 April 2024, SAOC awarded a competitive Development contract with Production and Interim Contractor Support (ICS) options. This contract requires the Prime contractor to buy the required aircraft, bring each aircraft to a common configuration, make required modifications, develop, and integrate the mission system into each aircraft, provide required ground support systems and conduct contract support operations for fielded systems until the Operations and Support Phase.

## Related program elements

- [0401319F — VC-25B](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0401319F) (Air Force)
- [0708051F — Rapid Sustainment Modernization Technologies](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0708051F) (Air Force)
- [0308601N — Modeling & Simulation Support](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0308601N) (Navy)
- [0303142A — SATCOM Ground Environment (SPACE)](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0303142A) (Army)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Air Force RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0604288F (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0604288F")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*