Doomsday plane tracker: E-4B Nightwatch and E-6B Mercury live
"Doomsday plane" is the nickname for the aircraft built to keep the US government and its nuclear forces connected through a war: the Air Force's four E-4B Nightwatch jets and the Navy's E-6B Mercury fleet. This page shows any of them broadcasting their position right now.
Government and military aircraft appear here only when they broadcast their position publicly over ADS-B. Many of their flights do not.
| Flight | Registration | Operator | Type | Altitude | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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E-4B Nightwatch and E-6B Mercury at a glance
- E-4B Nightwatch
- Four militarized Boeing 747-200s, based at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska
- E-4B role
- National Airborne Operations Center, a flying command post for national leaders
- E-6B Mercury
- Sixteen built on the Boeing 707 airframe, based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
- E-6B role
- Relays orders to ballistic-missile submarines (TACAMO) and serves as an airborne command post
What they do
The E-4B is designed to keep the President, the Secretary of Defense and military leaders able to command US forces if ground command centers are destroyed. Its electronics are hardened against the effects of a nuclear blast, it can be refueled in flight, and at least one is kept on alert at all times. E-4Bs also carry the Secretary of Defense on some overseas trips.
The E-6B's main job has the Navy name TACAMO, short for "Take Charge And Move Out": trailing a very long antenna behind it, it relays orders to submarines carrying ballistic missiles. Upgraded E-6Bs can also act as an airborne command post for US Strategic Command.
Why they show up on trackers
These aircraft fly routine training missions often, and many of those flights broadcast ADS-B like any other aircraft. E-6Bs in particular are frequently seen flying long racetrack patterns over the central United States. A doomsday plane on the map is almost always training, not a sign that anything is wrong.
The E-4B fleet dates from the 1970s, and the Air Force has picked a replacement program, the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, based on used 747-8 airliners.
Questions
Does a doomsday plane flying mean something is wrong?
Almost never. E-4Bs and E-6Bs fly training and routine missions regularly, and those flights are usually what people notice on flight trackers.
Why is no doomsday plane showing right now?
Military aircraft only appear when they broadcast their position, and many missions are flown without public ADS-B. The last-seen list shows when each was last heard.
Why isn't an aircraft I know is flying on the map?
Positions come from volunteer ADS-B receivers, which only hear aircraft within roughly 200 nautical miles. Over oceans, deserts and parts of Africa and Asia there are few receivers, so an aircraft can vanish mid-flight and reappear near land. Military and some government aircraft also switch their transponders' public data off.
More live trackers
Positions from the adsb.lol volunteer ADS-B network (ODbL). Aircraft are shown only while a receiver can hear them.