- Entrou
- Out 5, 2021
- Mensagens
- 58,111
- Gostos Recebidos
- 1,662
Navy's 'Doomsday plane' goes on Atlantic mission as it 'vanishes' from tracking
A US 'Doomsday plane' built to survive and transmit orders for nuclear strikes has vanished from tracking screens on a mystery mission across the Atlantic
A US Navy 'Doomsday plane' that serves as a command-and-control hub for US Strategic Command, the Secretary of War, and the President has 'gone dark', disappearing from flight trackers after switching off its transponder, reports the Daily Mail.
One of just 16 specialized 'Doomsday planes', the Boeing E-6B Mercury can transmit orders for nuclear strikes. The aircraft is also built to withstand nuclear blasts and keep forces connected if ground-based centres are destroyed. With analogue rather than digital technology, the Mercury is designed to survive electromagnetic pulses, letting the President and the Secretary of War stay in touch with submarines, bombers, and missile silos in a nuclear war.
The plane was last seen crossing the Atlantic east of Virginia Beach on public flight-tracking systems around 8.30am Eastern Time (ET) on Friday (1.30pm GMT).
Flight data showed the aircraft left Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland then followed a routine southeast path over the Chesapeake Bay, the Daily Mail reports. The plane then skirted the Norfolk naval complex before heading offshore.
About 60 miles east of the Virginia Capes, its public transponder went dark, a normal practice during sensitive operations.
Once over the ocean, Mercury typically enters classified warning zones, lowers a multi-mile trailing wire antenna, and flies racetrack patterns for four to eight hours while sending secure test messages to submarines and ground stations.
By turning off its transponder during these operations the plane is invisible to trackers, who describe the aircraft as then 'going dark'.
The aircraft, operating under the callsign AFD FE2, followed a familiar route used for TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) missions that connect US strategic forces, including ballistic-missile submarines, to national command authorities even during nuclear conflict.
The flight comes just one day after Thanksgiving, when US strategic forces tend to scale back operations before swiftly returning to full readiness.
The 'Doomsday plane' fleet makes up part of Operation Looking Glass, officially known as the Airborne Command Post, which helps communicate with American nuclear forces if ground-based command centres are destroyed.
According to the squadron, its mission is to allow the President and the Secretary of War to directly liaise with US submarines, bombers, and missile silos in the event of a nuclear war.
Boeing built the Navy's fleet between 1989 and 1992. "The TACAMO airplanes support the Navy's ballistic missile submarine force, providing a vital link to the force from national command authorities," according to the manufacturer.
"The TACAMO E-6B airplanes are equipped with dual trailing wires that serve as transmitter and antenna, transmitting in the very low frequency spectrum."
Mercury was built to withstand large electromagnetic pulses from nuclear explosions. It relies on older analogue technology rather than digital technology, which would be fried by such pulses.
The plane was sighted in March, when flight radar tracked a Mercury leaving Tinker Air Force Base around 9am ET and soaring around Omaha, where Offutt Air Base is located. The base is a nuclear command, control and communications base that supports national leadership and warfighters.
AirNav Radar, a flight tracker, captured the plane’s path over Nebraska. The flight tracker spotted another three other Mercury planes on Monday. One of the planes did a shorter trip, circling outside Tulsa and returning to base one hour later. Another flew south toward Dallas, and the last Mercury was spotted leaving from Maryland.
That flight also lasted no more than one hour. The purposes of the five Mercury flights are unknown.
Daily Star Sunday
A US 'Doomsday plane' built to survive and transmit orders for nuclear strikes has vanished from tracking screens on a mystery mission across the Atlantic
A US Navy 'Doomsday plane' that serves as a command-and-control hub for US Strategic Command, the Secretary of War, and the President has 'gone dark', disappearing from flight trackers after switching off its transponder, reports the Daily Mail.
One of just 16 specialized 'Doomsday planes', the Boeing E-6B Mercury can transmit orders for nuclear strikes. The aircraft is also built to withstand nuclear blasts and keep forces connected if ground-based centres are destroyed. With analogue rather than digital technology, the Mercury is designed to survive electromagnetic pulses, letting the President and the Secretary of War stay in touch with submarines, bombers, and missile silos in a nuclear war.
The plane was last seen crossing the Atlantic east of Virginia Beach on public flight-tracking systems around 8.30am Eastern Time (ET) on Friday (1.30pm GMT).
Flight data showed the aircraft left Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland then followed a routine southeast path over the Chesapeake Bay, the Daily Mail reports. The plane then skirted the Norfolk naval complex before heading offshore.
About 60 miles east of the Virginia Capes, its public transponder went dark, a normal practice during sensitive operations.
Once over the ocean, Mercury typically enters classified warning zones, lowers a multi-mile trailing wire antenna, and flies racetrack patterns for four to eight hours while sending secure test messages to submarines and ground stations.
By turning off its transponder during these operations the plane is invisible to trackers, who describe the aircraft as then 'going dark'.
The aircraft, operating under the callsign AFD FE2, followed a familiar route used for TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) missions that connect US strategic forces, including ballistic-missile submarines, to national command authorities even during nuclear conflict.
The flight comes just one day after Thanksgiving, when US strategic forces tend to scale back operations before swiftly returning to full readiness.
The 'Doomsday plane' fleet makes up part of Operation Looking Glass, officially known as the Airborne Command Post, which helps communicate with American nuclear forces if ground-based command centres are destroyed.
According to the squadron, its mission is to allow the President and the Secretary of War to directly liaise with US submarines, bombers, and missile silos in the event of a nuclear war.
Boeing built the Navy's fleet between 1989 and 1992. "The TACAMO airplanes support the Navy's ballistic missile submarine force, providing a vital link to the force from national command authorities," according to the manufacturer.
"The TACAMO E-6B airplanes are equipped with dual trailing wires that serve as transmitter and antenna, transmitting in the very low frequency spectrum."
Mercury was built to withstand large electromagnetic pulses from nuclear explosions. It relies on older analogue technology rather than digital technology, which would be fried by such pulses.
The plane was sighted in March, when flight radar tracked a Mercury leaving Tinker Air Force Base around 9am ET and soaring around Omaha, where Offutt Air Base is located. The base is a nuclear command, control and communications base that supports national leadership and warfighters.
AirNav Radar, a flight tracker, captured the plane’s path over Nebraska. The flight tracker spotted another three other Mercury planes on Monday. One of the planes did a shorter trip, circling outside Tulsa and returning to base one hour later. Another flew south toward Dallas, and the last Mercury was spotted leaving from Maryland.
That flight also lasted no more than one hour. The purposes of the five Mercury flights are unknown.
Daily Star Sunday