U.S. Navy Signs $20.3M Deal to Upgrade E-6B Doomsday Aircraft
The United States Navy has awarded Collins Aerospace a $20.3 million contract modification to produce and deliver three high-power transmit set modernization kits for the E-6B “doomsday plane,” according to a Department of the Navy contract announcement.
The award was issued to Rockwell Collins Inc., operating as Collins Aerospace Government Systems, under a firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable order exercising an option on a previously issued agreement. The modification covers full-rate production of transmitter upgrades for the Navy’s E-6B fleet and was not competed.
According to the contract notice, work will be performed in Richardson, Texas, and is scheduled for completion by June 2027. Fiscal year 2026 Navy aircraft procurement funds totaling $20,338,803 will be obligated at the time of award, with no funds expiring at the end of the current fiscal year. The contracting activity is the Naval Air Systems Command in Patuxent River, Maryland.
The E-6B aircraft serves as a key node in the U.S. military’s nuclear command, control, and communications architecture. Operated by the U.S. Navy, the platform provides survivable, airborne communications linking national leadership with strategic forces, including ballistic missile submarines and intercontinental ballistic missile units.
The transmit set modernization kits covered by the contract are intended to upgrade high-power communications equipment used by the E-6B fleet. These systems support very low frequency and other specialized transmissions required for strategic command missions. The Navy has not released technical details of the upgrades, citing operational security considerations.
Collins Aerospace is a long-standing supplier of avionics and communications systems to the U.S. military and has supported multiple modernization efforts for legacy strategic platforms. The company is part of RTX and provides systems across air, land, and sea domains for U.S. and allied forces.
The E-6B fleet has undergone a series of incremental upgrades in recent years to extend service life and maintain mission readiness. These efforts focus on avionics, communications resilience, and integration with evolving command-and-control networks rather than major airframe changes.
Naval Air Systems Command oversees development, acquisition, and lifecycle support for naval aviation platforms and systems. Contract modifications such as this are commonly used to exercise pre-negotiated options as part of multiyear modernization programs.