A doomsday plane that was designed to be an airborne base for the US during nuclear war has been spotted flying over Britain.
The Boeing 747 E4-B aircraft can remain in the air for days, and even withstand the electromagnetic pulse from a nuclear blast.
Washington has maintained a fleet of the £150million planes since the Cold War, with the intent of using them as mobile bases if a war did turn nuclear.
At least one of the massive jets are kept ready to take off 24/7.
The plane, known as the ‘Flying Pentagon’ would house senior military personnel and the defence secretary and was spotted taking off from the US as apart of the convoy shuttling the president over to Europe.
Keen-eyed plane watchers spotted the plane, the GRIM99: Nightwatch, taking off to support Joe Biden’s visit to Europe.
Biden flew over in Air Force One to take part in what could be vital summits that are due to last four days.
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The airborne command post is a mobile war room, brimming with military strategists and analysts who, in a worse case scenario, would help guide Biden through the early days of nuclear war.
This comes as Russian state TV warns any NATO intervention, even sending in peacekeepers to Ukraine, could be met with a nuclear response.
The Kremlin’s propaganda mouthpieces issued the chilling warnings on some of its most popular TV show.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously placed his nuclear resources on full alert in an attempt to scare of the west from action.
He also refused to rule out the use of nuclear weapons should there be an existential threat to Russia.
Whilst the doomsday planes are not a secret, they are very rarely mentioned and the full capabilities of jets like Nightwatch are unknown.
After taking off from Washington as apart of the convoy, it passed over the Atlantic and English Channel before circling an area just north of Cambridge, according to the flight tracking app, Flight Radar 24.
It was believed to be headed for RAF Mildenhall.
The Nightwatch has three decks and can hold a crew of 112 people, whilst staying airborne for 12 hours without landing.
On top of that, aerial refuelling, now common amongst jets, means it could stay airborne for days.
Its windows are reported to have wire mesh to keep them intact, and equipment and wiring on board are hardened and there is thermal and nuclear shielding in the event of a blast.
It has 18 bunks and six bathrooms, a briefing room, conference room, work areas and executive quarters.
But unlike the luxury of the president’s plane, Air Force One, plane’s like Nightwatch have purely functional decor.
The bubble on the top is called a “ray dome” or “radome” and contains dozens of satellite dishes and antennae which can communicate with any US ship, submarine or aircraft anywhere in the world.
But, in December 2020, Russian media reported that radio communication equipment from the plane had been stolen while it was undergoing maintenance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief spokesman has conceded that Russia has yet to achieve any of its military goals in Ukraine and refused to deny that Moscow could resort to the use of nuclear weapons.
In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Dmitry Peskov repeatedly refused to rule out that Russia would consider using nuclear weapons against what Moscow saw as an "existential threat."
When asked under what conditions Putin would use Russia's nuclear capability, Mr Peskov replied, "if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be."
The United States condemned Peskov's "dangerous" comments.
Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday: "It's not the way a responsible nuclear power should act."
