A fleet of U.S. military aircraft, known as "doomsday planes," was observed flying across the United States on Tuesday. The unusual aerial activity coincided with a rare, unannounced visit to Moscow by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
At least four Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft were tracked over the West Coast and central U.S. Flight-tracking data indicated that one aircraft flew over Colorado and Wyoming at approximately 24,000 feet, while another traversed Kansas and Oklahoma at about 30,000 feet. A third was observed over Missouri and Arkansas at roughly 35,000 feet, and a fourth was tracked near the Texas-Oklahoma border. A fifth aircraft was also tentatively identified as a Mercury.
Ratcliffe traveled to the Russian capital aboard a U.S. Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III, arriving at Moscow's Vnukovo International Airport and departing several hours later. The Kremlin confirmed that the CIA director held talks with Russian intelligence officials, though he did not meet with President Vladimir Putin. The visit occurred amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow and was not publicly announced beforehand.
The E-6B Mercury, nicknamed "Take Charge And Move Out," serves as a critical communications link connecting U.S. national command authorities with the Navy's ballistic-missile submarines. Similar sightings of these aircraft have occurred previously. In March, an E-6B was observed circling California's Central Valley for nearly two hours, conducting mock landing approaches. In January, an Air Force E-4B Nightwatch, another aircraft also referred to as a "doomsday plane," landed at Los Angeles International Airport while the Secretary of Defense was in the region.