Elodie Collins 
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a $4.2 billion contract modification to continue providing contractor logistics support for the service’s E-4B Nightwatch aircraft. The modification increases the total value of the long-running contract from $1.5 billion, the Department of Defense said.
What Does the E-4B Contract Modification Cover?
The award supports follow-on services, including programmed depot maintenance, base supply management, program management and field support. Boeing will also provide system integration laboratory support, obsolescence studies and engine sustainment under the contract action.
Work will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; San Antonio, Texas; and Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The Air Force expects work to conclude by fiscal 2027.
The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma serves as the contracting activity.
The latest modification builds on a sustainment contract Boeing first received in 2015 under a 10-year indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity vehicle. The Air Force has exercised multiple options on the contract in recent years to continue E-4B sustainment.
In December 2022, the service exercised contract options worth about $235 million to support the aircraft with depot maintenance, engine sustainment and emergency support services. In 2020, the Air Force exercised a $197 million option for similar sustainment work.
What Is the E-4B’s Mission?
The E-4B serves as an airborne command, control and communications platform for the president, secretary of defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff during national emergencies. The aircraft, a military derivative of the Boeing 747-200, can accommodate up to 111 people.
It is equipped with a satellite communications system and electromagnetic pulse, nuclear and thermal effects shielding.
