U.S. Deploys "Doomsday Plane" to Europe; Russia issues "Nuclear Clash" warning to its military
The United States has transferred an E-6B "Looking Glass" nuclear war command and control aircraft to Europe. In response, Russian Armed forces were issued a "nuclear clash warning" (The U.S. equivalent of DEFCON-2) by the Ministry of Defense. | The transfer of the American "doomsday plane" to Europe is allegedly a "signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, the U.S. European Command moved the E-6B Mercury, also known as the "Doomsday Aircraft," to Iceland. It refueled and continued on to Europe. It is an airborne command post designed to control armed forces in a nuclear war. The current version of the aircraft entered service in 1998 and is capable of communicating directly with submarines equipped with ballistic missiles. In addition, the Mercury can also remotely control Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles. "After Russia suspended its participation in the New START agreement, the redeployment of the E-6B Mercury to Iceland can be seen as a measure of clear anti-Kremlin positioning" said sources in the US Defense Department.