Nicknamed ‘The Flying Pentagon’ one US plane worth £150m can survive a nuclear blast and stay in the air for days. The US Air Force in Washington has maintained a fleet of Nightwatch command-and-control Boeing 747 E4-B aircraft since the 1970s, to provide an airborne base for the US defence secretary and senior military personnel to conduct operations during a potential nuclear war.
The aircraft is designed to withstand the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast. It regularly conducts routine training and readiness missions, with at least one E4-B kept on 24/7 readiness.
The airborne command post is a mobile war room stuffed with military analysts, strategists and communications aides who would guide US president Joe Biden through the first days of a nuclear war.
While the planes are not technically secret, they are rarely mentioned and their full capabilities are classified.
Designed during the Cold War, the Nightwatch has three decks, can hold a crew of 112 people and can fly for 12 hours without landing – while aerial refuelling means it can stay in the air for days.
Its windows are reported to have wire mesh to keep them intact, while equipment and wiring on board are hardened and there is thermal and nuclear shielding in the event of a blast.
Inside, it has 18 bunks and six bathrooms, a briefing room, a conference room, work areas and executive quarters – but unlike Air Force One the decor is said to be functional, befitting its military role.
The bubble on the top is called a ‘ray dome’ or ‘radome’ and contains dozens of satellite dishes and antennae which can communicate with any US ship, submarine or aircraft anywhere in the world.
Russia also has a “doomsday plane”, the Ilyushin Il-80, known as Maxdome.
But, in December 2020, Russian media reported that radio communication equipment from the plane had been stolen while it was undergoing maintenance.
The aircraft has visited the UK a number of times, most recently landing at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk on July 10, 2023.
