During his first overseas trip as defense secretary, Pete Hegseth shared a video of himself aboard a C-17 Globemaster III transport jet, seated inside a Silver Bullet Command and Control Module. The Air Force deploys these converted Airstream trailers to provide senior leaders, including Hegseth, with a secure and quiet space for conducting business amid the typically noisy environment of a cargo aircraft.
However, the Silver Bullet’s tenure is coming to an end. The Air Force announced plans to replace the aging unit with the new Roll-On Conference Capsule (ROCC) in December. Unlike the retrofitted Silver Bullet, which first flew in the early 1990s, the ROCC was designed specifically for this mission, offering upgraded features and enhanced security.
Hegseth’s video, taken during a long flight from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to Germany, showed him seated in a brown leather chair inside the Silver Bullet, where he signed an order renaming Fort Liberty in North Carolina to Fort Roland L. Bragg. His trip included visits to U.S. Africa Command and U.S. European Command in Stuttgart before heading to Brussels for discussions with NATO allies about continued U.S. support for Ukraine.
The Silver Bullet has long served as a mobile SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility), office, and resting area for military leaders. Retired Army General Joseph Votel, former commander of U.S. Central Command, highlighted the importance of such facilities, stating that maintaining communication during long flights was essential to his role. The module contains secure and unsecure voice, data, and video teleconferencing capabilities, connecting to C-17 systems through a set of umbilical cables.
The upcoming replacement, the ROCC, aims to improve upon the Silver Bullet’s design with modernized communications and security features. In 2019, the Air Force awarded an $8.5 million contract to SelectTech Services Corp. to develop and deliver two ROCC units. These new capsules will enhance the ability of senior leaders to maintain critical communications, including connectivity with the National Command Authority, which underpins the U.S. nuclear deterrent.
With only 10 months left before the Silver Bullet is retired, Hegseth and other senior leaders will continue to rely on it for official business during overseas travel. The transition to the ROCC marks a significant step forward in ensuring top military officials remain connected and operational at all times.
By: Montana Newsroom staff
