Several ‘doomsday planes’ were spotted circling above the US on Tuesday, just hours after the CIA director made a surprise visit to Moscow.
Flight enthusiasts spotted at least five Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft along the West Coast and in the central region of the nation.
These giant unmarked planes, constructed using the frames of the Boeing 707, are built to survive a nuclear war and coordinate America’s military response from the air if bases on the ground are attacked.
Public flight trackers began following the aircraft at around 1:30pm EST, although the main planes appeared with blank or missing call signs on ADS-B services.
The flights followed CIA director John Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow, which sparked a frenzy after the public spotted a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane touching down at Vnukovo International Airport.
The flight’s arrival was highly unusual given the current tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Officials have not commented on the doomsday planes seen hours later, nor announced military exercises.
However, 6 E-6Bs routinely fly for training, and seeing five in the sky does not signal a looming crisis.
Several ‘doomsday planes’ were spotted circling above the US on Tuesday (stock)
Public flight trackers began following the aircraft at around 1:30pm EST, although the main planes appeared with blank or missing call signs on ADS-B services
FlightRadar24 tracked each aircraft, showing one identified by the hex code AEA92D moving over the Colorado-Wyoming region at an altitude of roughly 24,000 feet and a speed of about 374mph.
A second plane, AE7D28, flew over the central US near Kansas and Oklahoma at approximately 30,000 feet, reaching about 471mph.
The aircraft identified as AEABAB was spotted farther east over Missouri and Arkansas, flying at around 35,000 feet and 541mph.
Another plane, AF4019, was tracked near the Texas-Oklahoma border at a much lower altitude of approximately 9,500 feet and a speed of 307mph, suggesting it may have been climbing or operating in a different phase of flight.
Trackers also flagged AF1BB0 as a possible fifth E-6 Mercury, although its identity was not consistently confirmed across the available flight-tracking images.
Known as ‘Take Charge And Move Out,’ the E6 Mercury’s core job is keeping the National Command Authority connected to ballistic missile submarines at sea.
It was designed on a modified Boeing 707 airframe and fits up to 22 people.
This is a developing story… More updates to come.
