SNC, the global aerospace and national security company known for its elite mission systems integration expertise, announces arrival of the fourth 747-8i at its Aviation Innovation and Technology Center (AITC) in Dayton, Ohio. Acceptance of the fourth aircraft coincides with SNC’s one-year anniversary of being awarded the U.S. Air Force’s (USAF) Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) contract. Under the SAOC contract, SNC will modernize and deliver a replacement for the USAF’s current fleet of E-4B “Nightwatch” aircraft with a modern E-4C aircraft. This highly specialized aircraft serves as an airborne command center trusted by the President and other top national security leaders to ensure continued critical airborne command, control and communication (C3) during national emergencies.
“For the past year, SNC has been committed to excellence and innovation in our execution of SAOC, and the arrival of the fourth SAOC aircraft to SNC’s AITC marks a significant milestone in our journey. This achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire team, and it underscores our unwavering commitment to advancing key national security needs. We are proud of the progress we’ve made and are excited for the future as we continue to support the critical SAOC mission. Our team is thoroughly focused on these major objectiv. The progress we have made in just one year is a clear indication of our commitment to meeting and exceeding our customer’s expectations while preserving SAOC cost and schedule.,” said Jon Piatt, executive vice president of SNC’s IAS business area. “.”
Over the past year, SNC has achieved several key milestones under the SAOC program. Just six weeks after contract award, SNC welcomed the first 747-8i to the AITC. Four months later, in October 2024, SNC celebrated the opening of a second state-of-the-art hangar at the AITC while simultaneously breaking ground on two additional hangars to support ongoing and future projects. This expansion underscores SNC’s commitment to investing early in our capabilities and scaling the Enterprise to meet the needs of the SAOC program. Progress on the program continued throughout the fall with arrival of the second SAOC aircraft at the AITC, a significant step forward in the SAOC development timeline. This achievement was followed by the successful ferry of the first SAOC aircraft to Wichita State University’s National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR) in November of 2024. The move officially commenced the program’s engineering and development activities.
The USAF’s selection of SNC for the SAOC program marked one of the largest aircraft modernization contracts awarded to a company other than the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). This indicates a new acquisition approach that prioritizes open systems and fosters innovation, speed and life cycle cost competitiveness. Throughout its 60-year history, SNC has continually worked to expand the industrial base and deliver OA solutions across domains to accelerate innovation and speed of delivery. The SNC-led SAOC team includes global A&D industry leaders Collins Aerospace, GE Aerospace, Greenpoint Technologies Inc., Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, NIAR and Rolls-Royce. This team of agile and proven performers harness their respective expertise to bring innovation, speed with discipline, impeccable engineering and on-cost and accelerated deliveries to recapitalize the E-4B fleet with next-generation NC3 capabilities.
