Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Doomsday plane [1] is an unofficial denomination of a class of aircraft which is used as an airborne command post in an event of nuclear war, disaster or other large scale conflict that threatens key military and government infrastructure.
The aircraft was to provide a survivable platform to conduct war operations in the event of a nuclear attack. Early in the E-4's service, the media dubbed the aircraft as "the doomsday planes". [6] The E-4 was also capable of operating the "Looking Glass" missions of the Strategic Air Command (SAC). [14]
The Doomsday plane is a planned Airborne Command Post to be operated by the Russian Air Force.It is based on the Ilyushin Il-96-400-M commercial aircraft airframe and is scheduled to replace the older Ilyushin Il-80 models introduced in the early 1990s.
Although the two types of aircraft are distinct, the Doomsday Plane nickname is also frequently associated with the Boeing E-4 "Nightwatch" Advanced Airborne Command Post mission and aircraft. The Looking Glass was the anchor in what was known as the World Wide Airborne Command Post (WWABNCP) network.
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era. Boeing E-4 – US Air Force airborne command squadron aircraft; Boeing E-6 Mercury – Airborne command post aircraft by Boeing based on 707 airframe; Doomsday plane (Russia) – Russian Airborne Command Post; Ilyushin Il-80 – Russian airborne command post aircraft based on Il-86 airliner
Navy E-6B Mercury at the Mojave Air and Space Port. Like the E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, the E-6 is adapted from Boeing's 707-320 airliner. Rolled out at Boeing's Renton Factory in December 1986, [2] the first E-6 made its maiden flight in February 1987, when it was flown to nearby Boeing Field in south Seattle for fitting of mission avionics.
The Russian reporting name for the aircraft is Aimak, or Eimak (Mongolian for "clan"). [2] The aircraft is believed to have first flown in the summer of 1985, with the first post-modification flight taking place on March 5, 1987, and deliveries starting later that year. [2] [3] In all, four aircraft are known to have been converted from Il-86s. [2]
The Boeing EC-135 is a retired family of command and control aircraft derived from the Boeing C-135 Stratolifter.During the Cold War, the EC-135 was best known for being modified to perform the Looking Glass mission where one EC-135 was always airborne 24 hours a day to serve as flying command post for the Strategic Air Command in the event of nuclear war.