Doomsday Plane spotted flying low over California
Photo: Doomsday Plane circled low over the United States (wikimedia.org)
Amid rising tensions between the US and Iran, a 45-meter Boeing E-6B Mercury, known as the Doomsday Plane, was spotted in the skies over California, according to Fox26.News.
The aircraft carried out training for about two hours, including simulating a landing at Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Airport representatives confirmed that the aircraft was conducting flights in the area of the airfield.
Those who published photos of the plane flying low over one of the small towns in California called its presence in US airspace alarming.
Did you see it? A Boeing E-6B Mercury, often referred to as a 'Doomsday Plane,' was seen circling yesterday, making mock landings at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport, according to observers.https://t.co/UJgJueqGJc pic.twitter.com/HjiqnmHNHw
— FOX26 News (@KMPHFOX26) March 9, 2026
About the aircraft
The Boeing E-6B Mercury is a communications relay aircraft and a strategic airborne command post. It ensures the survivability and endurance of airborne command, control, and communications between national leadership and US strategic and non-strategic forces.
The aircraft can transmit messages to nuclear-armed submarines beneath the ocean surface using a very low frequency communications system with dual trailing wire antennas.
The aircraft can remain in the air for up to seven days thanks to the ability to refuel directly during flight. That is why it can operate as a mobile headquarters in the event of the complete destruction of ground infrastructure.
History of the Boeing E-6B
The E-6B is based on the commercial Boeing 707. It connects the country’s top officials with America’s nuclear arsenal, allowing the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense to communicate with bombers and missile silos.
The aircraft made its first flight in October 1998. It can carry up to 22 crew members. Its deployment reportedly lasts three weeks.
The previous time the US Navy’s E-6B Mercury aircraft, capable of maintaining communication with nuclear submarines, carried out an unusual flight near Greenland was in August last year.
