E-4B “Doomsday Plane” Just Made A Highly Unusual Visit To Secretive Tonopah Test Range Airport

[iMONITOR]

E-4B “Doomsday Plane” Just Made A Highly Unusual Visit To Secretive Tonopah Test Range Airport
Seldom, if ever, do E-4Bs visit Tonopah Test Range Airport in Nevada and, in this case, the Secretary of Defense might have been onboard.

E-4B “Doomsday Plane” Just Made A Highly Unusual Visit To Secretive Tonopah Test Range Airport (Updated)

Seldom, if ever, do E-4Bs visit Tonopah Test Range Airport in Nevada and, in this case, the Secretary of Defense might have been onboard.

www.thedrive.com

 

[GlobalNorth]

SecDef Lloyd was onboard the Nightwatch aircraft for the junket to SE Asia. The SecDef rates the E-4B as standard transport for overseas travel, due to the COG and NC^2 aspects of his office.

 

[PACNWDude]

Awesome aircraft, although, in a previous life, I knew them as the "Airborne Launch Control Center (ALCC)", ......then after an incident in 1995 they were re-named as the Airborne Missile Control Center's. These aircraft trail a long wire antenna and transmit launch votes to the land-based ballistic missile fleet.

 

[Hooligan]

Awesome aircraft, although, in a previous life, I knew them as the "Airborne Launch Control Center (ALCC)", ......then after an incident in 1995 they were re-named as the Airborne Missile Control Center's. These aircraft trail a long wire antenna and transmit launch votes to the land-based ballistic missile fleet.

Nope. You're getting confused with the EC-135/E-6 platforms. JCS Nightwatch program utilizing the E-4B platform doesn't have the Airborne Launch Control System equipment or personnel -- not their mission, and in carrying-out their primary or secondary missions, it'd be rather suicidal for them to operate in the region where the USA has ICBM Missile Alert Facilities and Launch Facilities.

ALCS doesn't use the VLF/LF trailing wire antenna system either -- ALCS still uses UHF, and can both provide a vote as-well as command & control them without a separate vote.

 

[Hooligan]

SecDef Lloyd was onboard the Nightwatch aircraft for the junket to SE Asia. The SecDef rates the E-4B as standard transport for overseas travel, due to the COG and NC^2 aspects of his office.

And you'd think him being a National Command Authority would be enough, but the reality is a major reason SECDEF started using the E-4Bs is to help justify the E-4B operations budget.

 

[PACNWDude]

Nope. You're getting confused with the EC-135/E-6 platforms. JCS Nightwatch program utilizing the E-4B platform doesn't have the Airborne Launch Control System equipment or personnel -- not their mission, and in carrying-out their primary or secondary missions, it'd be rather suicidal for them to operate in the region where the USA has ICBM Missile Alert Facilities and Launch Facilities.

ALCS doesn't use the VLF/LF trailing wire antenna system either -- ALCS still uses UHF, and can both provide a vote as-well as command & control them without a separate vote.

You are partially correct. The E4B can also conduct the "Looking Glass" mission, and tests this capability under the "Giant Pace" exercise for the Air Force and National Command Authority (this has changed names many times). This used to include SELP, Simulated Electronic Launch - Peacekeeper (missile) until their deactivation and continues with SELM, Simulated Electronic Launch - Minuteman (missile) today. These were based out of Nebraska. As you stated, some are not equipped alike, as there are four of them. Attached is the souvenir given to those of us that conducted SELM Giant Pace 94-M.

 

[PACNWDude]

Correction to above, Giant Pace 94-2M (not 94-M), we tested two Minuteman missiles (I tested the second one, hence "2M"), and the tail number on the aircraft in the picture is not the tail number of the E4B used for the test. (I will also caution people to not take Wikipedia as the gospel, as it states that E4B's were too expensive for the "Looking Glass" mission. There is a lot behind the scenes that will never be placed onto a website like Wikipedia.) Leaving the operations side of the equation, some of us move to the supply chain side, and there is a lot more "out there" than the public knows about.

 

[FIRE321FIGHTER1985]

Being ex-military be careful what ya'll post. China, Russia, N Korea and other enemies maybe watching, reading and monitoring this stuff. Just saying.

 

[PACNWDude]

The above is all public knowledge, and open source.....Wikipedia just gets updated by amateurs.

 

[KevinC]

If any of our adversaries get their intel from Radio Reference I feel sorry for them.

 

[RadioDitch]

Being ex-military be careful what ya'll post. China, Russia, N Korea and other enemies maybe watching, reading and monitoring this stuff. Just saying.

Well hey, then they'll be appropriately misinformed.

 

[Hooligan]

You are partially correct. The E4B can also conduct the "Looking Glass" mission, and tests this capability under the "Giant Pace" exercise for the Air Force and National Command Authority (this has changed names many times). This used to include SELP, Simulated Electronic Launch - Peacekeeper (missile) until their deactivation and continues with SELM, Simulated Electronic Launch - Minuteman (missile) today. These were based out of Nebraska. As you stated, some are not equipped alike, as there are four of them. Attached is the souvenir given to those of us that conducted SELM Giant Pace 94-M.

I'm happy to be corrected, but based on how erroneous the info in your initial response here was & the quibbling you're doing in subsequent responses, I'm asking you to support your claims. Talking about a 25+ year old SELM & including what I assume to be an intentionally poor photograph of a popular old USAF Public Affairs poster with bits of patches visible in it doesn't work for me. NO IDEA where you got "As you stated, some are not equipped alike" from, but that's certainly not any reasonably accurate quote from me. There's a lot of very intentional equipment standardization on the E-4Bs for what should be obvious reasons, however with only 4 airframes total and the Alert requirements for the Nightwatch mission, there can be many weeks/months between the first one getting an equipment upgrade and the fourth one getting it. But equipping them with ALCS isn't part of the primary, secondary or tertiary E-4B Nightwatch program missions.