NY Post
A fleet of America’s so-called ‘doomsday planes’ was spotted flying across several strategically-sensitive and important areas of the US Tuesday — just hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a rare, unannounced trip to Moscow.
At least four Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft were tracked over the West Coast and central US, while a fifth was tentatively identified as another Mercury, according to public flight-tracking data that quickly drew the attention of military aviation enthusiasts, the Daily Mail reported.
The unusual activity came as Ratcliffe traveled to the Russian capital aboard a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III.
The military transport was tracked flying into Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport before departing several hours later.
Ratcliffe’s visit had not been announced beforehand and came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow.
The Kremlin later confirmed the CIA director held talks with Russian intelligence officials, though he did not meet President Vladimir Putin.
Against that backdrop, flight trackers began recording the E-6Bs at around 1:30 p.m. EST.
One aircraft, identified by the hex code AEA92D, was tracked over Colorado and Wyoming at roughly 24,000 feet and about 374 mph.
Another, AE7D28, flew across Kansas and Oklahoma at approximately 30,000 feet, reaching around 471 mph.
Ratcliffe’s visit had not been announced beforehand and came amid heightened tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Public flight trackers began following the aircraft as multiple ‘doomsday planes’ were spotted circling the West Coast. The activity comes as America’s top spy takes a secret trip to Russia.
A third, AEABAB, appeared over Missouri and Arkansas at about 35,000 feet and roughly 541 mph, while AF4019 was tracked near the Texas-Oklahoma border at around 9,500 feet and 307 mph.
A fifth aircraft, AF1BB0, was also flagged as a possible E-6B, although its identification was not consistently confirmed.
The E-6B Mercury, known as ‘Take Charge And Move Out,’ serves as a crucial communications link between US national command authorities and the Navy’s ballistic-missile submarines.