Funding Would Support Infrastructure for New “Doomsday” Planes
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, secured a total of $121.9 million for Nebraska military construction projects in the 2025 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies (MilCon-VA) Appropriations Act.
The majority of the funding will go towards the planning and design of aircraft hangars, ramps, operations training facilities, supply storage, and a fire and rescue station at Offutt Air Force Base—required infrastructure for the Air Force’s new Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) program.
SAOC will eventually replace the Air Force’s current fleet of E-4Bs, highly specialized “doomsday” planes hosted by Offutt Air Force Base. E-4Bs, which serve as mobile command centers for senior government leaders in crisis scenarios, are rapidly aging and must be replaced. Senator Fischer secured this funding in the MilCon-VA bill to prepare Offutt Air Force Base to host the new versions of the E-4Bs.
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted to advance the legislation today. It now heads to the full Senate for passage.
“Nebraska is the proud home of the Air Force’s ‘doomsday’ planes, which the president and other military leaders use for command and control of our armed forces during extreme crisis situations. My provision provides Offutt with key resources needed to host the next generation of these highly specialized aircraft,” said Senator Fischer.
Additional details on the Nebraska projects Senator Fischer secured are below.
Nebraska’s Military Construction Funding:
1) $110 million appropriated to plan and design the necessary facilities to support the new Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) program.
2) $6 million to plan and design a new building to consolidate Offutt Air Force Base’s educational functions, military support functions, and the DOD STEM-based STARBASE program.
3) $5.9 million to expand available housing at the Greenlief Training Site in Adams County, NE.
Veterans Affairs (VA) Request:
1) Urges the VA to purchase essential medical devices from U.S. manufacturers or allied trading partners and requests the VA to submit a report on ways to reduce dependency on Chinese medical devices while safeguarding against shortages.
