We all know what VC-25a is (soon will be VC-25B), better known as Air Force One. Boeing 747, only two units were manufactured and on which the President or Vice President of the United States (U.S.) fly.
The U.S. also has a number of other planes in its fleet for transporting VIPs: 8 Boeing C-32A (on the 757 platform) 2 Boeing C40 Clipper (on the B737NG platform), and 5 Gulfstream G550s.
Government agencies, especially the CIA and the U.S. military, have a number of planes to transport their dignitaries and operatives.
However, it is less known that the U.S. has its own Doomsday planes, of which there are as many as four. These planes were also built on the Boeing 747-200 platform, and bear the designation E-4B Nightwatch.
These airplanes are designed to survive a nuclear attack and serve as a command center in the event of a nuclear war, but also for other disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, meteor strikes).
In peacetime, the plane serves precisely as a command center in the event of major natural disasters (earthquakes, hurricanes) when the army is dealing with the consequences, but it also serves to transport the Secretary of Defense and the commander of the armed forces abroad.
Therefore, in peacetime, these four planes have about 50 missions a year. Presidents of the U.S. very rarely fly this plane, and the last one to fly was Ronald Reagan. The capacity of the plane is 112 people. This plane was first introduced in 1974 when it replaced the EC-135J.
The planes fly for 10 hours, but they can refuel in the air. One of these four planes is always on 24-hour stand-by mode. The planes are shrouded in secrecy and it is never known at which base they are stationed, except for one plane that is shown to the public and is stationed in Nebraska.
In the event of a nuclear attack, one each carries the president of the U.S., the Secretary of Defense, and the commander of the armed forces.
The plane is divided into six main units: the command area; a room for the operation team (with 27 stations that have desks, satellite phones, computers, and equipment intended for each special service); conference hall; briefing room (in war mode this is a war room, in peacetime it houses journalists); a communication area with 25 work stations and a rest area that has chairs that turn into beds, but also small rooms with beds for senior employees to sleep.
In the nose of the plane is the VIP suite, which has a bunk bed, a desk, several chairs for associates, and screens for communication. Next to the suite is a station for the U.S. Secret Service.
This plane is far more technically equipped than Air Force One (VC-25A). The planes have the most sophisticated equipment for mutual communication via antennas and satellites, but also for communication with any area in the world. If necessary, the plane can tow a low-frequency antenna 8 kilometers long.
Of course, the U.S. could only have two Boeing 767s for this purpose, whereby the president would use Air Force One in the event of a disaster, and one each would be used by the Secretary of Defense and the chief of staff.
That would be much cheaper and just as efficient. But let’s be realistic, everything in the U.S. must be megalomaniacal, much too big, and extremely expensive. So why not have four B747s for this purpose, of which at least two are surplus?
Photo: US Military
E.Dz.
