America’s so-called ‘Doomsday plane’ has been spotted over the West Coast as fears of a potential Iranian attack on California have come to light this week.
The US Navy’s E-6B Mercury strategic airborne command aircraft was captured on camera flying unusually low and repeatedly circling the city of Fresno on March 8.
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.
Officials from Fresno Yosemite International Airport claimed the maneuvers were part of routine training operations for the military command plane, which regularly practices landing procedures without actually touching down.
However, the roughly two-hour readiness flight left onlookers in California concerned, as the Navy’s fleet of E-6Bs has now been seen multiple times since the war in Iran broke out on February 28.
Moreover, the sighting on Sunday came just hours before it was publicly revealed that the FBI had warned local police of a possible Iranian strike on the West Coast using explosive drones.
In the event of a catastrophic attack on US soil, the E-6B serves as a flying radio station and command center for the president and the Secretary of War, carrying special antennas that can even reach nuclear-armed submarines deep underwater.
Along with being able to talk to satellites, land-based military posts and underground missile facilities, the Mercury fleet is also capable of controlling a nuclear strike from 40,000 feet above the ground.
The US Navy’s E-6B Mercury (Pictured) was spotted over Fresno, California on March 8, conducting maneuvers as the fighting in Iran intensify
The FBI has warned that Iran could potentially deploy deadly drones (Pictured) to strike targets along the US West Coast
Sunday’s flight was also captured by public flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, which monitored the Doomsday plane’s training runs over the cities of Fresno, Clovis and Sanger.
The airport sits in Central California, roughly 200 miles from both Los Angeles to the south and San Francisco to the north.
Both metropolitan areas are home to millions of Americans and could be in the crosshairs of a retaliatory strike or terrorist attack as the fighting in Iran continues.
‘Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran,’ according to the FBI alert, obtained by ABC News.
‘We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack,’ authorities continued.
The E-6B training run came after at least four other Mercury aircraft were spotted on flight-tracking websites in early March, including two that were reportedly headed into the war zone in the Persian Gulf.
The Pentagon has told the Daily Mail they could not comment on the flights ‘due to operational security.’
However, the main job of these planes is to carry out the ominous task called ‘Take Charge and Move Out’ or TACAMO.
Flight-tracking websites captured the ‘Doomsday plane’ while it repeatedly circled Fresno Yosemite International Airport
The Navy’s nuclear command planes have been launched as state media in Iran has claimed the regime has thousands of drones available to deploy against the US and Israel
Essentially, it means the E-6B could be used to send orders from President Trump or top leaders to Navy nuclear submarines, even if normal phone lines or ground stations were to be destroyed.
In a crisis, the planes are deployed to key strategic areas or told to remain in the air for further orders. This keeps communication links alive if ground bases get hit or jammed.
Retired Air Force Major General Clay Garrison told FOX26: ‘They can control the bombers, if the bombers are on alert, they can control the missiles, because the missiles are always on alert, and obviously they can control our ballistic missile submarines. It’s all combined into one.’
In the Middle East, US military bases, embassies, and other civilian targets have already come under attack from Iranian missile barrages and drones during the first weeks of the conflict.
Swarms of Iranian Shahed-136 drones can be fired from mobile launching platforms, often hidden on trucks.
Footage released by the Fars News Agency, which is closely linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, showed long lines of the Shahed drones, allegedly ready for launch.
The FBI bulletin noted that while an attack on US soil would mark a dramatic and historic escalation, officials still considered the scenario plausible.
They added that, until now, other hostile groups, including drug cartels, have avoided such clear and deadly provocations, which would immediately trigger a heavy response from Washington.
