SECDEF Hegseth’s ‘Silver Bullet’ Command Module ‘Unsafe’

President Donald Trump’s new Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) Pete Hegseth just went on his first official overseas trip, to Europe. Due to scheduled maintenance, however, Hegseth flew there on an Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport rather than one of four existing E-4B Survivable Airborne Operations Center jets he was initially scheduled to fly on.

Lacking the comfort or command and communications capabilities of the E-4Bs, in cases like these the Air Force deploys the Silver Bullet pod, essentially a converted 1990’s Airstream trailer, inside the belly of the C-17 for its senior leadership.

The shiny aerodynamic Roll-On, Roll Off (RORO) trailer, owned by the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command, gives senior leaders and other very, very important persons (VVIPs) a highly secure, insulated, quiet location on board to conduct business in the cavernous cargo aircraft bay.

As The War Zone (TWZ) reported: During his flight a Hegseth shared a short video aboard the Globemaster sitting in a Silver Bullet. The clip showed Hegseth sitting on a brown leather chair at a workstation inside the pod, where he signed the order changing the name of Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Roland L. Bragg.

However, as TWZ also notes, the current three-decades-old command and control pod, used by numerous high-level U.S. officials over the years, has been deemed unsafe for flight and will soon be replaced.

But what exactly does the Silver Bullet consist of, why is it unsafe, and what will replace it?

TWZ explains:

The Silver Bullet is essentially a mobile SCIF, 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 which underpins America’s nuclear deterrent, anywhere and anytime.

Since the Silver Bullets were simply modified trailers intended for use on land, they were considered so unsafe for air transport use that they were deemed not airworthy back in 2000. Yet, they continued to be used without exception for 20 years.

TWZ reported:

The Silver Bullets “did not meet the numerous airworthiness requirements, including crash 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 crash scenarios, hard landings, and turbulence in flight.” 

In 2020 the Air Force finally issued a memo restricting occupancy of the modules. during takeoffs and landings, refueling and “moderate turbulence in flight as determined by the aircraft commander.”

And now, the Silver Bullets’ days are numbered as a newer, safer, purpose-built replacement unit called the Roll-On Conference Capsule (ROCC) designed and built by  SelectTech Services Corp. of Centerville, Ohio, is scheduled to be fielded in December of 2025.

The ROCC is expected to be fully certified for all phases of flight when it is fielded.

According to SelectTech ROCC 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.”

So, Hegseth, and other VVIPs will only enjoy the historic but “unsafe” Silver Bullet for about 10 more months, before their much safer, state-of-the-art replacements come online.

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