The American Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, recently made his first official foreign trip. The head of the Pentagon traveled aboard a C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft, specifically inside a Silver Bullet (Silver Sphere) command and control unit.
This platform is one of the most interesting in the world. Here's why:
Silver Bullet: The transport for the Pentagon's VVIPs
The Silver Bullet is essentially a heavily modified Airstream trailer. Today, the U.S. Air Force has two of these units, which are used as a safe and quiet place for the transport and work of high-ranking officials, such as the U.S. Secretary of Defense and other Very Very Important Persons (VVIPs).
The need for such a command and control unit arose due to the fact that high-ranking officials at the Department of Defense usually travel aboard military transport aircraft, such as the C-17 used by Hegseth on his first official overseas trip.
Although these aircraft are spacious, they are very noisy, making it difficult for the Secretary of Defense and his team to concentrate on their work, according to American sources.
The first Silver Bullet was used in the early 1990s, so we are talking about a relatively old platform. Because of this, the U.S. Department of Defense plans to adopt its replacement this December. The new command and control unit will be called the Roll-On Conference Capsule (ROCC).
These new capsules were developed and designed from scratch to transport U.S. Department of Defense officials, unlike the "Silver Bullet," which, as mentioned, is a heavily modified trailer.
Hegseth posted a video on social media from his stay in the Silver Bullet. In the footage, he can be seen sitting at a narrow but relatively luxurious desk. On his first official overseas trip, the new U.S. Secretary of Defense visited U.S. military units in Stuttgart, Germany. He then took off heading for Brussels, Belgium, where he met with leaders of NATO member countries.
Below, you can watch the related video and see more photos of the very interesting command and control unit, the Silver Bullet.
