A guide to the 'doomsday plane': The US airborne command center

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As President Donald Trump weighs whether he will target Iranian nuclear facilities amid escalating Israel-Iran conflict, the president’s U.S. Air Force E-4B Nightwatch, also known as the “doomsday plane,” is now attracting attention, having reportedly landed at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, D.C., earlier this week, according to the New York Post and other media.

In response to inquiries about the alleged Nightwatch landing, officials from Joint Base Andrews told Fox News Digital that “as a matter of operational security, we cannot comment on specific location or purpose of the [National Airborne Operations Center] or other aircraft on our flightline.” Other reports say the plane is no longer in the Washington area and is back at its home base.

Leaders within Iran have threatened retaliation against the U.S. in the event it enters the Israel-Iran conflict. Theresa Payton, former White House chief information officer and CEO of the cybersecurity firm Fortalice Solutions, told Fox News Digital that the Islamic Regime may prepare a high-impact cyberattack on the U.S. “as it becomes more and more desperate.”

Doomsday plane

Lt. Col. Peter J. Amaral, left, and Maj. Ted DeBonis exit a E-4B Nightwatch at the Lincoln Airport on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.  (Chris Machian /Omaha World-Herald via AP)

The president is said to be deciding whether to use the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber to deliver a series of 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordinance Penetrators, also known as “bunker busters,” to destroy Iran’s well-fortified Fordow nuclear facility, which may lie further than 300 feet below mountainous rock.

While Israel targeted facilities associated with the Iranian military and Iran’s nuclear program, on June 19, Iran struck Soroka Hospital, the largest hospital in southern Israel, with a ballistic missile, causing damage.

 

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