The arrival of the Air Force's "Doomsday Plane" at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland has elevated fears that the U.S. may be on the verge of a major confrontation in the Middle East.
The E-4B "Nightwatch" is a militarized Boeing 747 capable of surviving a nuclear blast and would serve as central command for the president and key military leaders in the event of a nuclear confrontation. As of Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said he has reviewed and approved a military option for the U.S. to engage directly with Iran but has thus far withheld from giving a formal go-ahead.
While the four E-4Bs are in a regular flight rotation to maintain operational readiness, Wednesday's flight issued a callsign of ORDER01, instead of the typical ORDER6, according to data from the flight tracking site FlightRadar.
The plane left Bossier City, Louisiana, just prior to 6 p.m. and arrived in Maryland at 10 p.m. The images of the Doomsday Plane in the nation's capital come the same week as the president is putting all options on the table to confront Iran's nuclear ambitions. It is unclear if the plane's landing in Andrews was routine or a precautionary show of force to remind Iran what is at stake.
In the case of a national emergency, the E-4B "provides a highly survivable command, control and communications center to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders, and coordinate actions by civil authorities," according to the Air Force.
Thankfully, the world has yet to see the E-4B in full operational use. "I'd like to think of the E-4B as kind of like a flying backup Pentagon, potentially more secure than the Pentagon. If you're seeing it at its maximum capability, which hopefully we never do, you're looking at an apocalyptic scenario which is why it is affectionately known as the Doomsday Plane," said Business Insider's Pentagon Correspondent Ryan Pickrell.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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