“Doomsdayโฃ Plane” Briefly Vanishes From Radar During Routine Mission
A U.S. Navyโ Boeing E-6B Mercury, one of โข16โฃ “Doomsday Planes” designed โขto maintain command and control during aโข nuclear war, temporarilyโ disappeared fromโ public radar โtracking on Friday, m. Eastern Time. the aircraft, call sign AFD FE2, was conducting a routine mission to communicate with U.S. โstrategic forces.
The Mercury took off from Patuxent River naval โAir Station, Maryland, โand flewโ a โฃsoutheasterly course over the Chesapeake Bay โbeforeโข headingโ out to sea. Approximatelyโ 60 โคmiles east of the Virginia Capes,the plane’s public transponder โsignal was lost – a standard procedure during sensitive operations.โค
These โaircraft,part of Operation โLooking Glass โค(Air Commandโข Post),areโ equipped to allowโค the President andโ Secretary of Defence to maintain communication with submarines,bombers,and missile silos even if ground command centers are destroyed. During missionsโ over the ocean, the Mercuryโค typically lowersโฃ a multi-mile antenna and fliesโข circular patterns for four to eight hours, sending secure test messages. The loss of transponder signal often leads to reports of the aircraft being “missing from radar.”
Boeing manufactured the โNavy’sโ fleet of E-6B Mercuryโค aircraft between 1989 and 1992. โThe planes are builtโค to withstand the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear detonation, utilizing older analog โคtechnology less vulnerable to such โan event.
three other Mercury planes were tracked on Monday, undertaking shorter flights near Tulsa, Dallas, and from Maryland. The purpose of these five flights โคremains unknown. According to Boeing, TACAMO aircraft “support the Navy’s โขballistic missileโฃ forces, โproviding a vital link to those forces from national commandโ authorities.”