President Donald Trump’s emergency command aircraft was caught making a mysterious flight from Louisiana to a military base in Maryland on Tuesday.
The Boeing E-4 ‘Nightwatch’, also known as the ‘Doomsday plane,’ serves as a flying command post for key officials during times of crisis, particularly designed to survive a nuclear attack and coordinate military actions.
The craft took off from Bossier City at 5:56pm ET, traveled along the coast, looped around the border of Virginia and North Carolina, before landing at Joint Base Andrews at 10:01pm.
The flight lasted over four hours, sparking speculation online about its purpose.
Some observers believe the mission may be linked to increased presidential security amid rising fears of nuclear escalation in the Middle East.
Tensions have surged following reports that Trump is prepared to support Israel’s military efforts against Iran, demanding Tehran’s ‘unconditional surrender.’
At least 224 people have been killed in Iran since Israel launched a bombing campaign last week, aiming to disrupt the country’s nuclear ambitions.
This is a developing story… More updates to come.
The Doomsday plane took off from Barksdale Air Force Base. However, the craft is traditionally stored at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
E-4B planes have unique capabilities that cannot be duplicated by any other aircraft that the Air Force uses.
The so-called doomsday planes have thermal and nuclear shielding, and are capable of withstanding nuclear blasts, electromagnetic effects and cyber attacks. They can also launch retaliatory missiles.
They carry special equipment and can communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world, and support analysts and strategists in-flight. E-4Bs have 67 satellite dishes and antennas in the ray dome.
Doomsday planes have three decks, which include a command room, conference room, briefing room, teamwork area, communications room and a designated rest area featuring 18 bunks.
The planes have remained airborne and operational for as long as 35.4 hours in one stint, but they were designed to operate in-flight for a full week without needing to land. The E-4B is also capable of refueling mid-air.
