Printed from https://fiscalreceipts.com/program/0604288F/ — data as of July 28, 2026. Every figure is citation-backed; see the page online for per-number provenance.
Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC)
Budget Figures
FY2026 award data is a partial year — USASpending awards are reported on a rolling basis and the fiscal year does not close until September 30. why partial FY2026 data? →
- FY24
- $717.6M
- FY25
- $1.62B
- FY26
- $1.83B
● actuals (line) · ○ enacted · ◇ request — gaps are editions the program is absent from, never interpolated.
| Series | FY16 | FY17 | FY18 | FY19 | FY20 | FY21 | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Actuals | $0 | $0 | $6.14M | $7.17M | $12.2M | $50.0M | $91.4M | $94.7M | $717.6M | ||
| Enacted | – | $0 | $7.85M | $7.44M | $12.7M | $59.4M | $95.8M | $98.2M | $888.8M | $1.62B | |
| Request | – | $7.85M | $9.74M | $16.7M | $76.4M | $133.3M | $203.2M | $888.8M | $1.69B | $1.83B |
blank = series not published for this year; – = absent from that edition.
Asked vs spent: the PB2024 book requested $888.8M for FY2024; the PB2026 book reports $717.6M actually spent — $171.2M below the request.
Program Lineage
No predecessor/successor lineage was recorded for this program element — no FY-to-FY transfer into or out of this line was stated in the ingested J-books, and none was inferred from the program structure.
Description
Mission — 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 Defense (SECDEF), 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 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 DoD/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, and other required program office capabilities. This program element may include necessary civilian pay 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 element 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605833F, or 0605898F. In FY 2024, $1.540M expended for civilian pay expenses in this program element. In FY 2024, $4.000M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this program element. The FY 2026 request for SAOC includes $1,826,328 thousand of discretionary and $6,800 thousand of mandatory (reconciliation) for a total of $1,833,128 thousand. The mandatory funds address EMD in FY 2026. Further information for this reconciliation request is provided in Chapter 8 (Nuclear) of the Reconciliation Exhibit. This program is in Budget Activity 5, System Development and Demonstration (SDD) because it has passed Milestone B approval and is conducting engineering and manufacturing development tasks aimed at meeting validated requirements prior to full rate production.
Mission — Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC)
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 Defense (SECDEF), 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 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 DoD/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, and other required program office capabilities. This program element may include necessary civilian pay 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 element 0605829F, 0605831F, 0605833F, or 0605898F. In FY 2024, $1.540M expended for civilian pay expenses in this program element. In FY 2025, $4.000M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this program element, and in FY2026, $5.49M is forecasted for civilian pay expenses in this program element. SAOC program transitioning from BA04 to BA05, System Development and Demonstration (SDD), in FY26. This effort is in Budget Activity 4, Advanced Component Development and Prototypes (ACD&P), because efforts are necessary to evaluate integrated technologies, representative modes or prototype systems in a high fidelity and realistic operating environment.
Justification
Accomplishments & Planned Programs (2)
SAOC
The SAOC weapon system is comprised of a Commercial Derivative Aircraft (CDA), mission system, and ground support systems. The CDA will be hardened to protect against nuclear and electromagnetic effects and modified with an aerial refueling capability to enable sustained airborne operations. The mission system will integrate secure communications and planning capabilities on modern information technology (IT) infrastructure based on a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA). The ground systems include aircrew trainers, mission crew trainers, maintenance training devices, ground support equipment, test and sustainment system integration laboratories, and other ground systems to enable the operations, sustainment, and future modifications of the SAOC weapon system across the lifecycle.
SAOC
The SAOC weapon system is comprised of a Commercial Derivative Aircraft (CDA), mission system, and ground support systems. The CDA will be hardened to protect against nuclear and electromagnetic effects and modified with an aerial refueling capability to enable sustained airborne operations. The mission system will integrate secure communications and planning capabilities on modern information technology (IT) infrastructure based on a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA). The ground systems include aircrew trainers, mission crew trainers, maintenance training devices, ground support equipment, test and sustainment system integration laboratories, and other ground systems to enable the operations, sustainment, and future modifications of the SAOC weapon system across the lifecycle.
Budget Line Items(workbook-cited)
Exhibit R-1
| Account | Org | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY24 Actuals | $717.6M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY25 Enacted | $1.62B |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY25 Total | $1.62B |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY26 Disc. Request | $1.83B |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY26 Reconciliation | $6.80M |
| Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force | F | FY26 Total | $1.83B |
Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)
| Project | All Prior Years | FY24 Actuals | FY25 Total | FY26 Base | FY26 Request |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Program Element | $0 | $717.6M | $1.62B | $0 | $0 |
| Program Element | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1.83B | $1.83B |
| 656507: Survivable Airborne Operations Center | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1.83B | $1.83B |
| 646507: Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) | $0 | $717.6M | $1.62B | $0 | $0 |
No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 17 of 1741 programs). why coverage is partial? →
Awards
No awards are linked to this program element at high confidence — the budget→award crosswalk only asserts links it can defend, and this line has none yet.
Lobbying Mentions
No Senate LDA lobbying filing in the tracked data mentions this program element by code or alias.
Program dossier
Every sentence below carries its citation — warehouse figures open the citation panel, news claims link the cached source.
Research dossiers exist for 50 of 1741 programs — the 50 largest fully J-book-detailed programs by FY2026 request. why no dossier here? →
What it is
- Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), program element 0604288F, is a U.S. Air Force development program funded in the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force account.
- The SAOC, designated the E-4C, replaces the aging E-4B fleet, which faces capability gaps, diminishing manufacturing sources, rising maintenance costs, and parts obsolescence as it nears the end of its serviceable life.
- SAOC is intended to give the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff a worldwide, survivable, enduring node of the National Military Command System to ensure continuity of operations and continuity of government during a national emergency or after ground command-and-control centers are lost.
- The program fulfills the Air Force nuclear mission by providing Nuclear Command, Control and Communications (NC3) capabilities so the President can command and control U.S. military nuclear-weapons operations.
- The SAOC weapon system comprises a Commercial Derivative Aircraft (CDA), a mission system, and ground support systems.
- The aircraft is to be hardened against nuclear and electromagnetic effects and modified with aerial-refueling capability for sustained airborne operations, while the mission system integrates secure communications and planning on a modern IT infrastructure built on a Modular Open System Approach (MOSA).
- Ground systems for the program include aircrew trainers, mission-crew trainers, maintenance training devices, ground support equipment, and test and sustainment system-integration laboratories to enable operations, sustainment, and future modifications across the weapon system's lifecycle.
Why it matters
- The program's total funding grows from $1,617,187 thousand in FY2025 to $1,833,128 thousand (about $1.83 billion) requested for FY2026.
- That is a year-over-year increase of $215,941 thousand (roughly $216 million) from FY2025 to FY2026.
- In FY2024 the program recorded actual spending of $717,641 thousand (about $718 million), so the FY2026 request is more than two-and-a-half times its FY2024 execution level.
- The FY2026 request is almost entirely discretionary: a discretionary request of $1,826,328 thousand (about $1.83 billion) makes up the bulk of the total.
- A small reconciliation (mandatory) request of $6,800 thousand (about $6.8 million) is added to the discretionary base to reach the $1,833,128 thousand FY2026 total.
- The money flows through a single named project, the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, funded at about $1,826.3 million in the FY2026 budget year.
- That same SAOC project line was funded at about $1,617.2 million in the current year (FY2025) and about $717.6 million in the prior year (FY2024), showing the program's rapid growth as development advances.
Key players
- The program is run by the U.S. Air Force, with funding drawn from the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force appropriation.
- The program's users are the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom SAOC is designed to serve as a survivable airborne node of the National Military Command System.
- Program funding also supports program-office operations and management services, including Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) and Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS), alongside Interim Contractor Support during development.