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Get to Know More about the US's Anti-Nuclear "Doomsday Plane"

E-4B
E-4B
A modified Boeing 747 "doomsday plane" called the Boeing E-4B took off from a US Air Force base in Nebraska, then completed a 4.5-hour flight to Chicago and back before landing again.

Militarymedia.net | A nuclear bomb-proof U.S. Air Force "doomsday plane" took to the skies for a brief training mission Monday (February 28). The plane was tested shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would put his country's nuclear forces on high alert, according to news reports. A modified Boeing 747 doomsday plane called the Boeing E-4B took off from a US Air Force base in Nebraska, then completed a 4.5-hour flight to Chicago and back before landing again.

During this brief sortie, the plane was reportedly accompanied by several early warning jets that were used to track ballistic missiles. The E-4B is part of a fleet of so-called Nightwatch aircraft maintained by the US military since the 1970s. The plane's purpose is to serve as a mobile command base for top-level military personnel in the event of a nuclear war, Live Science previously reported, and the plane contains several safety features you probably won't see on a commercial 747.

First, the $200 million aircraft is equipped with ancient analog equipment, not modern digital equipment, to allow the aircraft to continue operating even when exposed to electromagnetic waves from nuclear explosions.

The plane, which is almost entirely windowless, is also equipped with special armor to protect passengers and crew from the thermal effects of nuclear war. A special bump on top of the plane, known as a "radome," houses more than 65 antennae and satellite dishes, allowing the E-4B to communicate with ships, submarines, airplanes, and landlines anywhere in the world, according to CNBC. Many other features of the aircraft remain classified. The plane, which can stay airborne for days on end, is designed to withstand the electromagnetic waves from a nuclear explosion.

E-4B
E-4B

However, the plane was designed to be able to operate in flight for a full week without needing to land. Aircraft, also called 'National Airborne Operations Centers' when they are in flight, are specialized equipment and have the ability to communicate with anyone from anywhere in the world and support in-flight analysts and strategists. The E-4Bs are operated by the First Airborne Command and Control Squadron of the 595th Command and Control Group, coordinated by United States Strategic Command and stationed near Omaha, Nebraska, at Offutt Air Force Base. When the president is in the US, the Doomsday plane is kept engine running at all times and ready at Offutt base 24 hours a day. If the President goes overseas, the E-4B follows and is known to the crew as 'Air Force One When It Counts', according to Politico.

If an emergency occurs, one of the four aircraft can immediately rendezvous with Air Force One. The aircraft's design was intended to withstand electromagnetic waves with all systems intact, even to the fact that they still use traditional analog flight instruments because they are less vulnerable. The Doomsday aircraft is capable of operating with the largest crew of any aircraft in US Air Force history, with 112 people, both flight and mission personnel. All planes have three decks. The planes also have in-flight refueling and have been airborne and operational for up to 35.4 hours. Even though it has been designed to be able to operate in flights for a full week.

The planes are equipped with special equipment including wire antennas that can keep the president in touch with the nuclear submarine fleet, even if ground-based communications have been destroyed. The E-4 fleet was first put into service in the 1970s during the Cold War. Until the end of the war, one of the flying warrooms remained on alert at Andrew Air Force Base, ready to take off with the president on board in just 15 minutes. It is believed that these planes are the best way to keep the president safe in the event of a nuclear attack. In 2006, there was talk that the E-4B fleet would be retired in 2009 under then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In contrast, only one fleet retired in February 2007. When Robert Gates took over as Secretary of Defense in May 2007, he reversed the decision and the aircraft, with their unique abilities, returned to the fleet.

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