Flight tracking data showed the plane left Bossier City and landed in Maryland, after skirting the coast and circling around the Virginia-North Carolina border. Even more intriguing was its usage of the callsign ORDER01, rather than the usual ORDER6, which sparked suspicion.
It comes as US President Donald Trump demanded Iran’s “unconditional surrender” as the tension between the two longstanding enemies escalated. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, on Wednesday rejected Trump’s call. “Intelligent people who know Iran, the nation and the history of Iran, will never speak to this nation in the language of threats, because the Iranian nation cannot be surrendered,” Ayatollah Khamenei said.”The Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.”
About the ‘Doomsday Plane’
Also called the ‘Doomsday Plane’ or ‘Flying Pentagon,’ the E-4B Nightwatch acts as an airborne command centre for the president, secretary of defence, and joint chiefs of staff chairs, ensuring continuous crucial command, control, and communication in the event of an emergency. Each E-4B can carry a crew of up to 112 persons and has a range of over 7,000 miles.
Equipped with 67 satellite dishes and antennas, it can resist nuclear blasts, cyberattacks, and electromagnetic impacts and is ready to launch retaliatory missiles. It has three decks, which include a briefing area, a strategic meeting room, a communication zone, and 18 sleeping bunks. The maximum duration of an E-4B flight to operate in the air is 35.4 hours, without landing.
ALSO READ | Israel-Iran War: Tel Aviv Stock Exchange hit, says report
Historically, the E-4B has been active during major emergencies. President George W. Bush used a similar jet on 9/11, and the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) team carried on it during Hurricane Opal in 1995.
For LIVE updates on Iran-Israel war click here
