A fleet of America’s so-called “doomsday planes” was noticed flying throughout the US Tuesday — simply hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a uncommon, unannounced journey to Moscow.
At the least 4 Boeing E-6B Mercury plane had been tracked over the West Coast and central US, whereas a fifth was tentatively recognized as one other Mercury, in accordance with public flight-tracking information that rapidly drew the eye of army aviation fans, the Each day Mail reported.
The weird exercise got here as Ratcliffe traveled to the Russian capital aboard a US Air Pressure Boeing C-17A Globemaster III.
The army transport was tracked flying into Moscow’s Vnukovo Worldwide Airport earlier than departing a number of hours later.
Ratcliffe’s go to had not been introduced beforehand and got here amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow.
The Kremlin later confirmed the CIA director held talks with Russian intelligence officers, although he didn’t meet President Vladimir Putin.
Towards that backdrop, flight trackers started recording the E-6Bs at round 1:30 p.m. EST.
One plane, recognized by the hex code AEA92D, was tracked over Colorado and Wyoming at roughly 24,000 ft and about 374 mph.
One other, AE7D28, flew throughout Kansas and Oklahoma at roughly 30,000 ft, reaching round 471 mph.
A 3rd, AEABAB, appeared over Missouri and Arkansas at about 35,000 ft and roughly 541 mph, whereas AF4019 was tracked close to the Texas-Oklahoma border at round 9,500 ft and 307 mph.
A fifth plane, AF1BB0, was additionally flagged as a attainable E-6B, though its identification was not persistently confirmed.
The Submit has reached out to the Pentagon for remark.
The E-6B Mercury, often known as “Take Cost And Transfer Out,” serves as a vital communications hyperlink between US nationwide command authorities and the Navy’s ballistic-missile submarines.
The newest exercise follows a number of notable sightings this 12 months.
In March, an E-6B repeatedly circled California’s Central Valley close to Fresno, spending practically two hours conducting mock touchdown approaches at Fresno Yosemite Worldwide Airport, in accordance with native experiences.
In January, an Air Pressure E-4B Nightwatch — one other plane dubbed a “doomsday airplane” — landed at Los Angeles Worldwide Airport whereas Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth was within the area. An E-4B was additionally noticed circling close to Offutt Air Pressure Base in Nebraska in April.
