On the heels of the USAF E-4B fly-over a couple weeks ago, another “doomsday plane” flew over yesterday. This was a USN E-6B Mercury, part of the TACAMO (Take Charge And Move Out) system.
Unlike the E-4, the E-6 was broadcasting its position on ADSB which allowed flight trackers (like ADSBExchange) to follow its route from Barksdale AFB back to its home at Tinker AFB.
The mission of the E-6B is two-fold – it can perform TACAMO duties linking the National Command Authority with the Navy’s ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), and it can perform as a Survivable Airborne Operations Center with the ability to controll all of the nation’s nuclear forces, hence the “doomsday plane” moniker. This aging clip from the History Channel details how it communicates with the SSBNs.
A Closer Look From A Previous Encounter
In July 2011 I attended the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, England. RIAT is the largest military airshow in the world with aircraft from multiple countries in attendance. Gracing the static line that year was an E-6B, reg 164406.
