By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-13 05:51:38 | Updated at 2025-03-13 09:38:18
3 hours ago
Seconds after a U.S. satellite picks up the heat signature of a Russian ‘Satan II’ nuclear missile headed for New York, a very special plane will race down the runway at Offutt Air Base in Nebraska.
Simultaneously, another aircraft stocked with an array of technological wizardry, will be launched 400 miles to the south at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
The apocalypse will be upon us, but America will have the capability to fight back thanks to its fleet of top secret 'Doomsday' planes.
And once they are airborne with Trump on board, World War III will have begun.
The little known Doomsday planes serve a dual purpose, acting as a 'Flying Pentagon' from where the president and his generals can conduct thermonuclear war, and a mobile communications hub for U.S. nuclear jets, submarines, and missile silos on the ground.
Inside a Doomsday plane the commander in chief - President Donald Trump should the worst happen in the next four years - will be protected from nuclear blasts and electromagnetic pulses.
If all else fails, and the airborne headquarters is cyber-hacked, he would be able to launch a nuclear counter-attack using old-school analogue systems.
This week, Trump himself spoke about his fears that a nuclear war 'could happen tomorrow'.
He said: 'The greatest (danger) is sitting on shelves in various countries called "nuclear weapons" that are big monsters that can blow your heads off for miles and miles and miles.'
A warning to America's enemies? An E-6B Mercury 'Doomsday' plane in flight
In the event of World War III the president would conduct America's response from a Doomsday plane
Amid the growing potential for a nuclear Armageddon the Doomsday planes are on alert for take off 24/7. In both Nebraska and Oklahoma one has its engines running at all times.
And this week, in a move that will have sparked intense interest in Moscow and Beijing, the Doomsday squadrons embarked on some mysterious classified missions.
There are two types of Doomsday plane. E-6B Mercury aircraft, which would handle communications during World War III, are based at Tinker in Oklahoma. And E4-Bs, which would carry the president, are based at Offutt.
Offutt is also the home of US Strategic Command (STRATCOM) which would conduct America's global nuclear strike operations in the event of war.
On Monday, a Mercury took off from Tinker and flew north to Offutt.
According to flight tracking data the Doomsday plane circled Omaha, Nebraska several times on a seven-hour flight.
Perhaps it was a regular training mission.
But amid heightened fears of a nuclear crisis there has been speculation it was updating flight paths that might be taken in the event of a cataclysmic attack on STRATCOM.
If STRATCOM was taken out in a preemptive nuclear strike, it would be a Mercury Doomsday plane that would take over its coordinating role.
Flight data also shows other recent Doomsday flights out of Oklahoma over the past month.
Those flights have taken the top secret aircraft as far as Louisiana, Kansas, and even the west coast.
Other excursions picked up on publicly available flight tracking showed one route toward Texas, and a return flight to Oklahoma from Maryland.
In total there were five Doomsday flights.
Flights by 'Doomsday' planes picked up on flight tracking
Is America sending a signal to Moscow and Beijing?
The Mercury aircraft, which are operated by the U.S. Navy, sport a distinctive double hump on top.
They are 150ft long, have a crew of 22, and cost $141 million to build.
Wire antennas trail behind them and they can launch their own Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles if required.
A total of 16 were built and they evolved out of a Cold War project called 'Looking Glass' after the U.S. military determined it needed to be able to communicate from the sky.
An official said the aircraft 'provides survivable, reliable and endurable airborne nuclear command, control, and communications for the president.
'(That) facilitates the launch of U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles using an airborne launch control system.'
The planes can be refueled in the air and stay up for 72 hours, making them indispensable in the first phase of a nuclear war.
However, they are separate from the massive 'Flying Pentagon' jet - also known as a 'Doomsday' plane - that would carry the president.
That is the E-4B based, along with STRATCOM, at Offutt in Nebraska.
It is also nicknamed 'Nightwatch' and officially known as the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC).
There are four Nightwatch planes, which are modified Boeing 747-200s, rotating on alert.
A Nightwatch 'Doomsday' plane which would carry the president in World War III
The Nightwatch planes are outfitted as complete command centers for the president and his top officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the case of nuclear war
President Trump would fly on a 'Doomsday' plane if nuclear war breaks out
Inside, they are very different to the luxurious amenities of Air Force One.
As an airborne war room, functionality is the primary focus for generals and strategists to plot out their moves.
Each Nightwatch has 5,000 square feet of office space including a command room, secure conference rooms, a media briefing room, and 18 sleeping bunks.
It can remain in the air for up to a week, has three decks and capacity for the president and 64 other key people.
The plane is also capable of operating with the largest crew, 112, of any aircraft in U.S. Air Force history.
The E-4Bs have windows covered in a mesh that protects against electromagnetic shockwaves triggered by nuclear blasts.
In the cockpit there are special masks for pilots to avoid being blinded by nuclear explosions.
One official said: 'This jet does not shut down, 24/7, 365.'
The elaborate technology means the president can call any phone number, watch any TV broadcast, and receive text messages.
It has been estimated the plane costs about $160,000 per hour of flying time.
There is an advanced satellite communications system including 67 dishes and antennas in a ray dome.
It also has a kitchen that will stock food for the president and his guests.
Although unconfirmed, this is likely to include the incumbent president's favorite drink, Diet Coke.
Offutt Air base where several Doomsday planes are based
The plane can stay aloft for 35 hours without an in-flight refuel.
If the president goes abroad, a Nightwatch discreetly follows Air Force One so it can pick him up quickly if war suddenly breaks out.
Doomsday plane crews refer to their aircraft as 'Air Force One When It Counts'.
Each Nightwatch' is 231ft long, with a 195-foot wingspan, and cost $223 million to build.
An Air Force official described it as 'a worldwide, survivable, and enduring' element of U.S. strategy for World War III.
The official said: 'This capability ensures continuity of operations and continuity of government as required in a national emergency or after destruction of ground command and control centers.
'(It will) enable the exercise of authority and direction by the president to command and control U.S. military nuclear weapons operations.'
After Vladimir Putin placed Russia's nuclear forces on high alert in 2022, one of the Nightwatch planes went on a four-hour training flight.
Putin has his own 'Doomsday plane, an Ilyushin Il-80, known as the 'Flying Kremlin'.
The Ilyushin Il-80 Maxdome, Putin's Doomsday plane for use in the event of imminent nuclear war
The aging U.S. Nightwatch planes have become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain as parts become obsolete.
The first one was delivered by Boeing in 1979 and it had been expected all four would be replaced by 2009.
Maintenance means each plane is now unavailable for nearly half the time, raising concerns over whether they are offering the best security for the president.
Last year, the Pentagon awarded a $13 billion contract to Sierra Nevada Corp to develop a successor.
Work on the new Doomsday plane, officially known as the Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), is expected to be completed in 2036.
By that time the original Doomsday planes will be over half a century old.
The current planes will be replaced by a set of Korean Air 747-8 passenger jets which have been bought for $674 million, and will arrive in Ohio this year to be transformed.
A navigator on an E-4B Nightwatch 'Doomsday' plane prepares for takeoff
A Nightwatch 'Doomsday' plane refuels in mid-air on a test flight
Sierra Nevada is having to buy used planes because Boeing stopped making aircraft big enough to carry all the Doomsday equipment.
The Korean Air jets were built in 2015 and are believed to have been parked for the last two years in the wake of the pandemic.
A potential government shutdown looming later this week could affect the building of the new Doomsday planes.
Jon Piatt, Sierra Nevada's executive vice president, told Breaking Defense nuclear projects were exempt from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's planned cuts at the Pentagon.
But he said it would be a setback if Congress freezes funding at 2024 levels.
He said: 'I’m ramping up my work, I’m adding new facilities, I’m adding infrastructure, I’m adding cost. That cost has to be carried by someone. What I will say is it indeed has a ripple effect.'
