One of America’s doomsday planes was spotted circling above Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska on Monday, the same day Donald Trump warned Iran that the United States could strike hard if it rejected his demands. The Boeing E-4B Nightwatch took off from the base at 10:17 a.m. EST, circled the area at least six times and then landed back at Offutt.
The aircraft drew attention because Offutt is home to the headquarters of US Strategic Command and the E-4B is built to keep senior leaders connected if normal command centers are disabled. The plane serves as an airborne command center for the president, the secretary of defense and the chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and it is designed to function as a flying Pentagon in a national emergency.
The timing made the flight stand out. Trump said at the White House on Monday that “The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night,” and he set a Tuesday deadline for Iran to agree to his peace plan and open the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the United States would destroy the Islamic republic’s power plants and bridges if Iran did not agree to the plan.
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The E-4B is one of four in the US fleet and is heavily modified to survive nuclear blasts, cyberattacks, electromagnetic pulses and other disasters. Each aircraft can carry up to 112 people and fly more than 7,000 miles, with thermal and nuclear shielding and 67 satellite dishes and antennas in its ray dome allowing it to communicate with people anywhere in the world.
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Flight trackers regularly watch the Nightwatch during periods of high tension, and that is part of why the sighting drew notice so quickly on Monday. A similar flight last year also attracted attention just days before the United States joined Israel in a 12-day campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities. This time, the aircraft’s path over Nebraska was brief but unmistakable: the doomsday plane was in the air while Trump was escalating his warning, and it was back on the ground before the day was over.
