C-17’s ‘Silver Bullet’ Airstream Trailer Pod Used By Secretary Of Defense Hegseth On First Overseas Trip

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

C-17’s ‘Silver Bullet’ Airstream Trailer Pod Used By Secretary Of Defense Hegseth On First Overseas Trip

During his first overseas flight as defense secretary, Pete Hegseth shared a video of himself aboard a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

sitting in a

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. The converted Airstream trailer is one of two the Air Force deploys to give senior leaders, like Hegseth and other VVIPs, a secure, quiet place to conduct business in the middle of a noisy, often-crowded cargo aircraft.

The Silver Bullets’ days are numbered though.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, a replacement unit called the Roll-On Conference Capsule (

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

) is scheduled to be fielded in December, the Air Force told us today. Unlike the adapted Silver Bullets,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, these were purpose-built for the mission.

The short video showed Hegseth sitting on a brown leather chair at a small workstation inside the Silver Bullet, where

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

changing the name of Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Roland L. Bragg. It was during a long flight from Joint Base Andrews (JBA) in Maryland to Germany, where he visited U.S. Africa Command and U.S. European Command in Stuttgart on Tuesday, before heading to Brussels to discuss the future of U.S. support for Ukraine with NATO allies.

Long airplane trips can interrupt critical functions of any executive, as well as add stress to already hectic schedules. In addition to giving Hegseth a place to do his job as defense secretary, the Silver Bullet – at best a homey hideaway reminiscent of a 1990s motorhome – also offered him a place to rest.

SECDEF Hegseth at his desk in the Silver Bullet. (DOD Screencap)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

***** Cheney in the Silver Bullet at the same desk area as Hegseth. (The U.S. National Archives)

The Silver Bullet “was certainly comfortable and provided a relatively quiet place to work and concentrate.” Joseph Votel, the retired Army general who commanded U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

about the modules. “As a combatant commander, I had a need to stay in constant communications even during lengthy travel to the Middle East and do it in a place that I could work from. Purpose-designed aircraft and some other capabilities made available to us helped to make that possible — it was a multiplier for me. In the end – I just needed to be able to operate.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

The Silver Bullet then-U.S. Central Command leader Gen. Joseph Votel used during a 2016 trip to the Middle East. (Howard Altman photo) The Silver Bullet aboard a C-17 on a flight to Afghanistan and other nations in the U.S. Central Command region with then-CENTCOM commander Gen. Joseph Votel in 2016. (Howard Altman photo)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in an Airstream trailer aboard an Air Force C-17 as he heads to Iraq, Dec. 8, 2006. His aide, Col. Will Grimsley, is reflected in the microwave. (Photo by David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Then-Defense Secretary James Mattis (middle), with then-U.S. permanent representative to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison (left) and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Silver Bullet. (DOD photo)

The Silver Bullet is essentially a mobile

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, office, and apartment all in one. An arsenal of communications tech has been continuously upgraded that works to connect the pod to the outside world. This includes multiple options for unsecure and secure voice, data, and video teleconferencing. These systems “plug in” to the existing communications systems aboard a select number of C-17s via a set of umbilical cables. There is a large “mechanical caboose” that brings up the rear of the palleted Silver Bullet system where the communications technology and controls that support the pod are held and where the pod’s electronics are interfaced with the C-17. The updated version of this enclosure is called the “Silver Eagle” and it can support communications at the very highest levels. Above all else, this includes being able to connect with the National Command Authority that underpins America’s nuclear deterrent, anywhere and anytime.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

A very rare view inside the “Silver Eagle. (SelectTech)

We reached out to the Pentagon to see how Hegseth liked the Silver Bullet, which, like its twin, is owned by Air Mobility Command and maintained by the 89th Maintenance Group at JBA. It was by chance, meanwhile, that Hegseth flew the Globemaster on his maiden voyage as SECDEF. He was scheduled to fly one of the four existing E-4B Survivable Airborne Operations Center jets.

“Occasionally, due to routine scheduled maintenance, the small fleet of four aircraft cannot support additional tasking such as SecDef travel. In such cases, it is not uncommon for the SecDef to be supported with an alternative type of aircraft,” Justin R. Oakes, spokesman for the Eighth Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center, told us earlier this week.

In addition to better availability, the Globemasters have another advantage over the E-4Bs. They have a defensive suite that includes

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

and the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasure System (LAIRCM). This system uses missile launch detectors arrayed around the aircraft that alert the crew of an incoming missile via detection of the missile’s infrared plume and cue a number of laser turrets positioned around the jet’s fuselage to fire their blinding beams into the missile’s infrared seeker. This capability makes using the Silver Bullet a requirement for traveling into hostile locales.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

An Air Force E-4B flies over the ********* Pacific Coast on April 10, 2014. . (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary O’Dell) An Air Force E-4B flies over the ********* Pacific Coast on April 10, 2014. This shot gives us a good look at the E-4’s spine, which is festooned with antennas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Mary O’Dell)

Regardless, Hegseth has only about 10 more months to use the Silver Bullets. They are scheduled to be retired and replaced by the newer, safer ROCCs. In 2019,

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

to

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, for the design, development, integration, test and delivery of two ROCCs to replace the aging Airstream units.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, the Silver Bullets were considered so unsafe they were deemed not airworthy back in 2000. It wasn’t until 2020 that the flying branch issued a memo authorizing occupancy of the modules, except during takeoffs and landings, refueling and “moderate turbulence in flight as determined by the aircraft commander,” Air Force officials told The War Zone.

The Silver Bullets “did not meet the numerous airworthiness requirements, including ****** loads, egress, gusts loads, electrical system design, smoke and fumes, etc.,” the Air Force explained to us in 2022. In addition, a 2015 Air Force assessment “identified numerous risks which were generally associated with substandard electrical system design, improper use of materials for an aircraft environment, and inadequate structural design integrity for ****** scenarios, hard landings, and turbulence in flight.”

The situation was of great enough concern that the House Armed Services Committee in its markup of the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act asked the Air Force secretary for a full report by March 2023 on the Silver Bullet’s problems and plan for replacement.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

The ‘Silver Bullet’ airstream trailer carrying U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who is seen inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft transporting him and his staff from Kabul to Ramstein Airbase in Germany, March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool) The ‘Silver Bullet’ airstream trailer carrying U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is seen inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft transporting him and his staff from Kabul to Ramstein Airbase in Germany, Monday, March 11, 2013. Hagel returned to Washington from his first visit to Afghanistan as Secretary of Defense on Monday. (AP Photo/Jason Reed, Pool)

The ROCC is designed to mitigate those concerns, the Air Force told us.

“The intent is for [the ROCC] to be fully certified for all phases of flight when it is fielded,” Air Force Capt. Denise Guiao-Corpuz told us.

Those modules will have “intercom systems, lavatories, Ethernet network, Wi-Fi, VTC system display, external voice and data connectivity (wideband or narrowband), 120V/60Hz outlets, sleeping quarters, and a 9-person conference room,” according to SelectTech.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

The new Roll-On Conference Capsule from SelecTech will replace the Silver Bullet. (SelectTech graphic)

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

In 2019, the Air Force awarded SelectTech an $8.5 million contract for two Roll-on Conference Capsules to fly on C-17s. (SelectTech graphic) In 2019, the Air Force awarded SelectTech an $8.5 million contract for two Roll-on Conference Capsules to fly on C-17s. (SelectTech graphic)

The Silver Bullets have a storied past, hosting U.S. cabinet members, service secretaries, other military leaders, vice presidents, and even celebrities like Robin Williams and Drew Carey. Considering their significance, these unique but dated VVIP pods will hopefully find their way into museums.

Contact the author: *****@*****.tld

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#C17s #Silver #Bullet #Airstream #Trailer #Pod #Secretary #Defense #Hegseth #Overseas #Trip

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

For verified travel tips and real support, visit: https://hopzone.eu/