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Topics: Military, US News, World News, Politics
Callum Jones
The US Air Force has revealed the truth behind the 'doomsday plane' and why it made a 'highly unusual flight' earlier this week.
The Boeing E-4B 'Nightwatch', commonly known by its nickname 'doomsday plane', took off on a four-hour flight from Bossier City, Louisiana at 5:56pm ET, landing at Joint Base Andrews at 10:01pm ET on Tuesday (June 17).
The US has four E-4B aircrafts in its fleet, with the 'doomsday plane' having been used in emergencies such as 9/11.
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So, many were surprised to see the 'doomsday plane' touch down at Joint Base Andrews this week following an irregular flight path from Barksdale Air Force Base in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Essentially, the aircraft serves as a command post for the president and top military officials in the event of catastrophic events and even a nuclear war.
It can theoretically withstand nuclear blasts and electromagnetic pulses, meaning it can be very useful in the event of a disaster occurring.
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The US Air Force explains: "In case of national emergency or destruction of ground command and control centers, the aircraft provides a highly survivable command, control and communications center to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders, and coordinate actions by civil authorities."
Speculation mounted that the flight took place amid the continued tensions in the Middle East between Israel and Iran.
Now, the US Air Force has set the record straight, stating the latest flight was 'unrelated' to what is going in that part of the world.
"The E-4 flew a pre-scheduled mission yesterday, within the United States, that was unrelated to current events in the Middle East," an Air Force spokesperson told Snopes.
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Israel has been conducting strikes in Tehran, the Iranian capital, since June 13, which so far has gone on without any involvement from the US.
Iran subsequently fired back its own missiles, with some even getting through the country’s Iron Dome defenses in Tel Aviv.
Israel was hit by a new round of Iranian strikes on Friday (June 20) after a hospital in Beersheba in southern Israel was attacked earlier this week. Iranian state media report the missile strike targeted a military site next to the hospital rather than the actual medical site itself.
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President Donald Trump has said he will decide within two weeks whether America will hep Israel, while the 47th POTUS speculated on social media about killing the Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
When asked whether the US could get involved and fire missiles on Iran, Trump said earlier this week: "I may do it, I may not do it. Nobody knows what I'm gonna do."