America's $200m 'Doomsday' plane that protects VIPs in the event of a nuclear conflict was sent on-four hour training flight hours after Putin's threats.
* Military flight tracking sites showed the modified Boeing 747 had departed from US Air Force base in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Monday
* The E-4B carried out a training flight with other specialist military aircraft
* The planes are outfitted as the complete command centre for President and top officials in case of nuclear war or national emergency
Air Force One's little-known sister aircraft, the 'Doomsday Plane' - designed to protect high-ranking government officials from a nuclear attack - was sent on a four-hour training flight after Vladimir Putin placed Russia's nuclear forces on high alert.
On Monday evening, military flight tracking sites showed the modified Boeing 747 had departed from the US Air Force base in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The E-4B carried out a training flight with other specialist military aircraft, reports the newspaper.
The planes are outfitted as complete command centres for the President and his top officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the case of nuclear war or national emergency.
These aircraft have unique capabilities that cannot be duplicated by any other aircraft the Air Force uses.
The planes are outfitted as complete command centres for the President and his top officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the case of nuclear war or national emergency.
Monday's training flight, which lasted four-and-a-half hours, headed towards Chicago before returning to Nebraska. It appeared to be an unusual training flight as it was joined by two 'Cobra Ball' jets, which can track the trajectory of a ballistic missile, as well as other military aircraft.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the purpose of the exercise.
But the Doomsday flight came just a day after Putin said he had placed Moscow's nuclear forces on a 'special regime of combat duty' in response to 'aggressive statements' from members of the NATO defence alliance.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov went further on Monday and blamed the escalation on UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
E-4B Doomsday planes follow the President of the United States during his travels, whether domestic or international.
The aircraft, slated to have reached their service life by 2039, has been in operation since 1980.
The craft carries special equipment and can communicate with anyone, anywhere globally, and support analysts and strategists in-flight.
The planes can also be refuelled in the air and have remained airborne and operational for as long as 35.4 hours in one stint.
However, the craft was designed to operate in-flight for a whole week without needing to land.
The planes, also called 'National Airborne Operation Centers' when they are in-flight, have special equipment and can communicate with anyone from anywhere in the world and support analysts and strategists on the flight.
The First Airborne Command operates the E-4Bs and Control Squadron of the 595th Command and Control Group, coordinated by the United States Strategic Command and stationed near Omaha, Nebraska, at the Offutt Air Force Base.
When the President is in the US, a Doomsday plane is kept with its engine running at all times and ready at the Offutt base 24 hours a day.
According to Politico, if the President goes abroad, the E-4Bs follow and are known to the crews as 'Air Force One When It Counts'.
Should an emergency occur, one of the four craft is thus able to rendezvous with Air Force One almost immediately?
The plane's design is meant to survive an electromagnetic pulse with all the systems intact, even down to the fact that they still use traditional analogue flight instruments because they are less vulnerable.
A Doomsday Plane can operate with the largest crew of any aircraft in US Air Force history, at 112 people, both flight and mission personnel. The planes all have three decks.
Four specially modified Boeing 747s — dubbed the E-4Bs or 'Doomsday planes' (pictured) — carry high-ranking members of the US Government around the world. This image shows an E-4B aircraft being towed out of its hangar on June 17, 2009, at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
The planes also have in-flight refuelling and have been able to remain airborne and operational for up to 35.4 hours. However, it has been designed to operate in-flight for an entire week.
The planes are outfitted with special equipment, including a wire antenna that can keep the President communicating with the nuclear submarine fleet, even if ground-based communications had been destroyed.
The E-4 fleet was first operated in the 1970s during the Cold War.
Through the end of the war, one of the flying war rooms were kept constantly on alert at Andrew's Air Force Base, ready to lift off with the President on board in just 15 minutes.
It was believed that these planes were the best way to keep the President safe in the case 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.
Instead, just one of the fleet was retired in the February of 2007.
When Robert Gates took over as Secretary of Defense in May 2007, he reversed the decision and the plane, with its unique capabilities, returned to the fleet.
Source https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10569671/amp/Americas-200m-doomsday-plane-sent-four-hour-training-flight-Putins-threats
* Military flight tracking sites showed the modified Boeing 747 had departed from US Air Force base in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Monday
* The E-4B carried out a training flight with other specialist military aircraft
* The planes are outfitted as the complete command centre for President and top officials in case of nuclear war or national emergency
Air Force One's little-known sister aircraft, the 'Doomsday Plane' - designed to protect high-ranking government officials from a nuclear attack - was sent on a four-hour training flight after Vladimir Putin placed Russia's nuclear forces on high alert.
On Monday evening, military flight tracking sites showed the modified Boeing 747 had departed from the US Air Force base in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The E-4B carried out a training flight with other specialist military aircraft, reports the newspaper.
The planes are outfitted as complete command centres for the President and his top officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the case of nuclear war or national emergency.
These aircraft have unique capabilities that cannot be duplicated by any other aircraft the Air Force uses.
The planes are outfitted as complete command centres for the President and his top officials, including the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the case of nuclear war or national emergency.
Monday's training flight, which lasted four-and-a-half hours, headed towards Chicago before returning to Nebraska. It appeared to be an unusual training flight as it was joined by two 'Cobra Ball' jets, which can track the trajectory of a ballistic missile, as well as other military aircraft.
The Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment on the purpose of the exercise.
But the Doomsday flight came just a day after Putin said he had placed Moscow's nuclear forces on a 'special regime of combat duty' in response to 'aggressive statements' from members of the NATO defence alliance.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov went further on Monday and blamed the escalation on UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.
E-4B Doomsday planes follow the President of the United States during his travels, whether domestic or international.
The aircraft, slated to have reached their service life by 2039, has been in operation since 1980.
The craft carries special equipment and can communicate with anyone, anywhere globally, and support analysts and strategists in-flight.
The planes can also be refuelled in the air and have remained airborne and operational for as long as 35.4 hours in one stint.
However, the craft was designed to operate in-flight for a whole week without needing to land.
The planes, also called 'National Airborne Operation Centers' when they are in-flight, have special equipment and can communicate with anyone from anywhere in the world and support analysts and strategists on the flight.
The First Airborne Command operates the E-4Bs and Control Squadron of the 595th Command and Control Group, coordinated by the United States Strategic Command and stationed near Omaha, Nebraska, at the Offutt Air Force Base.
When the President is in the US, a Doomsday plane is kept with its engine running at all times and ready at the Offutt base 24 hours a day.
According to Politico, if the President goes abroad, the E-4Bs follow and are known to the crews as 'Air Force One When It Counts'.
Should an emergency occur, one of the four craft is thus able to rendezvous with Air Force One almost immediately?
The plane's design is meant to survive an electromagnetic pulse with all the systems intact, even down to the fact that they still use traditional analogue flight instruments because they are less vulnerable.
A Doomsday Plane can operate with the largest crew of any aircraft in US Air Force history, at 112 people, both flight and mission personnel. The planes all have three decks.
Four specially modified Boeing 747s — dubbed the E-4Bs or 'Doomsday planes' (pictured) — carry high-ranking members of the US Government around the world. This image shows an E-4B aircraft being towed out of its hangar on June 17, 2009, at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
The planes also have in-flight refuelling and have been able to remain airborne and operational for up to 35.4 hours. However, it has been designed to operate in-flight for an entire week.
The planes are outfitted with special equipment, including a wire antenna that can keep the President communicating with the nuclear submarine fleet, even if ground-based communications had been destroyed.
The E-4 fleet was first operated in the 1970s during the Cold War.
Through the end of the war, one of the flying war rooms were kept constantly on alert at Andrew's Air Force Base, ready to lift off with the President on board in just 15 minutes.
It was believed that these planes were the best way to keep the President safe in the case 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.
Instead, just one of the fleet was retired in the February of 2007.
When Robert Gates took over as Secretary of Defense in May 2007, he reversed the decision and the plane, with its unique capabilities, returned to the fleet.
Source https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10569671/amp/Americas-200m-doomsday-plane-sent-four-hour-training-flight-Putins-threats