'Doomsday Plane' Would Save President and Joint Chiefs in Apocalypse Scenario

ABC News ^ | June 7, 2011 | MICHAEL MURRAY

[sukhoi-30mki]

'Doomsday Plane' Would Save President and Joint Chiefs in Apocalypse Scenario

By MICHAEL MURRAY

June 7, 2011

In the event of nuclear war, a powerful meteor strike or even a zombie apocalypse, the thoroughly protected doomsday plane is ready to keep the president, secretary of defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff and other key personnel in the air and out of danger. It may not deflect a Twitter photo scandal, but it can outrun a nuclear explosion and stay in the air for days without refueling.

The flight team for the E-4B, its military codename, sleeps nearby and is ready to scramble in five minutes. It was mobilized in the tumultuous hours after planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and southern Pennsylvania on 9/11.

"If the command centers that are on the ground in the United States have a failure of some sort, or attack, we immediately get airborne. We're on alert 24/7, 365," Captain W. Scott "Easy" Ryder, Commander, NAOC, told ABC News' Diane Sawyer as she traveled to Afghanistan with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on the apocalypse-proof plane. "Constantly there's at least one alert airplane waiting to get airborne."

ll E-4B aircraft are assigned to the 55th Wing, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. The modified 747s can travel at speeds up to 620 miles per hour, 40 miles per hour faster than their commercial counterparts.

The $223 million aircraft is outfitted with an electromagnetic pulse shield to protect its 165,000 pounds of advanced electronics. Thermo-radiation shields also protect the plane in the event of a nuclear strike.

[tanknetter]

The plane has been around for years ( maybe not this current version ). I used to listen to its flights on HF. If memory serves, the codename ( callsign ) was Looking Glass.

Two different planes. "Looking Glass" was the codename used for the USAF planes, officially termed "NAOC" for National Airborne Operations Center - one of which was always airborne - that had a one-star aboard and could manage a USAF nuclear release. They were a variation of the C-135 series. Today the role is played by the USN's E-6 Mercury TACAMO (TAke Charge And Move Out) planes, which were originally intended to fulfill the same role but for just the USN's nuclear arsenal.

The E-4Bs are National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP, or "Kneecap" - ) aircraft that are basically flying situation/war rooms for senior leadership. They are not maintained on constant-airborne status, and since much of their capability has (since 9-11) been integrated into the two "Air Force One" VC-25s they're primarily focused now on supporting senior DoD leadership. An E-4B, for instance, is now used as the SecDef's personal ride.

[Salamander]

He’s reading the book for <0.

TOTUS had the day off.

[TheCipher]

"Kneecap" - that's the one. It's been a while- this was back in the mid 90' that I used to listen. Used to get a lot on AF1 and comms between the backup plane and the C-130. I remember one that I was listening to was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ( Shalikashvili ). It was SAM flight. He was going somewhere to make a policy speech. They got a message to him to change his speech 180 degrees from what he was going to say. It didn't come from the Presidents office or the WH situation room .It was a message ( order ) DIRECTLY from Hillary. It shows who was running things back then.

[Louis Foxwell]

And what are the electronics going to link to? In a nuclear winter there will be no ground control?
I would think that one of the few up sides of a holocaust would be the obliteration of all political leadership. Who, other than their precious selves, is genuinely interested in keeping their sorry a****s alive?
There are precious few whom I would want to trade places with my daughter on the last train out of town.

[LyinLibs]

Is it halal?

[Louis Foxwell]

That pic of Bo screams for a caption. Sniff, sniff, nothing there, keep reading.

[PieterCasparzen]

The first E-4A were delivered in 1974. The E-4B NEACP (National Emergency Airborne Command Post) is designed to survive an EMP with systems intact,[5] and has state-of-the-art direct fire countermeasures. The E-4B uses analog instruments because they are less susceptible to an EMP.[6]

In a test flight for endurance, the aircraft remained airborne and fully operational for 35.4 hours. It takes two fully loaded KC-135 tankers to fully refuel an E-4B.

I seem to recall when President Bush got in AF1 on 9/11 they discovered communications was no so good. Supposedly they had this fixed. IMHO, I'm very skeptical of the thing working sufficiently if it any such situation arose. IMHO, it's a big wide load with a big target on it if the poop hits the fan. Personally, I'd rather just be flyin' with a small group of 2 seaters, the best pursuit/fighter I could get. Just jump in behind the pilot, strap in and say "go AF1". Nice way to get somewhere 3 times as fast to boot, if there was an emergency. I'd leave all those WH politics pinheads to fend for themselves and go w/ the AF. I'd be plugged right into military command and control, that's fine.

[mulebones]

Maintenance? Yup, I hear the engines take some severe damage flying through ash clouds!

[boop]

Well isn’t there Mt. Weather, that’s been for the “VIPs” in government, since the 1950’s?

[conservativeimage]

Agent Man, you don't ask the almighty for his ID!

BRILLIANT!

[maddog55]

I’d start taxing when that POS started up the steps...

[John W]

Good questions. Obviously it was known to exist but why this detailed story and why now?

[abb]

Back in the early 70s, my small role in the USAF was as a radio operator in SAC. As such, maintaining “a continuous listening watch” with Looking Glass was part of the job.

http://2accs.com/history.html
The History of the Looking Glass

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840526,00.html
Defense: 35,000 Hours Through the Looking Glass

http://www.sac-acca.org/paccs.htm
A HISTORY OF THE POST ATTACK COMMAND AND CONTROL SYSTEM (PACCS)

[broken_arrow1]

If a nuclear war erupts due to his policies, Obama should be the first to feel the heat. After all, he will be spending an eternity in a hot inferno anyway, so he might as well get use to it.

[Erik Latranyi]

The $223 million aircraft is outfitted with an electromagnetic pulse shield to protect its 165,000 pounds of advanced electronics.

Its nice to know that in the event of the apocolypse, Anthony Weiner can still keep Tweeting!

[TangoLimaSierra]

Back in the early 70s, my small role in the USAF was as a radio operator in SAC. As such, maintaining “a continuous listening watch” with Looking Glass was part of the job.

I was at the Barksdale Reciever Site in '69 doing ground radio maint. Where were you?

[MrB]

I’m thinking there’s no escape when the trumpet sounds.

[RFEngineer]

“Question: how can it stay airborne for days I wonder? Its a modified 747 and they can’t stay up for days.”

typical press. It can fly for days, but it can’t fly for days without refueling. I presume it is equipped for air-to-air refueling, so it can fly for days without landing and refueling- which is probably what confused the reporter.

If it’s not equipped for air-to-air refueling then the specs in the article will rule:

Speed: 602 miles per hour (523 knots)

Range: 6,200 nautical miles

So by backing off on the throttle, they probably need to refuel every 12-16 hours or so.

[abb]

I was at the Barksdale Reciever Site in '69 doing ground radio maint. Where were you?

Walter Abbott, 46 Comm Sqdn. I was at that site from late 1970 until early 1974, except for a TDY to Thailand in late 1972. I was an Alpha/Bravo net operator.

I recall a couple of guys who were in maintenance probably when you were there. Drude, Bean, and there was a civilian named Golie Thompkins. I'll probably think of a couple of other names in a bit. It's been a while, lol.

[TangoLimaSierra]

Wow haven’t thought of Drude or Golie for a long time. I went to Thailand in early 70. Probably gone by the time you got there. Small world.