US E-4B ‘doomsday plane’ makes unexpected flight to DC as Trump weighs Iran strike
By Anthony Blair
Published June 18, 2025, 3:44 p.m. ET
One of America’s “doomsday planes” made a flight to Joint Base Andrews in Washington, DC, Tuesday night as President Trump weighs whether to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The E-4B Nightwatch — which was designed to protect the secretary of defense and other national security officials and keep the government operating in a time of nuclear war — was spotted by flight trackers, and took a long, winding route to the capital.
The aircraft left Bossier City, Louisiana, just before 6 p.m. Tuesday and landed in Maryland at 10 p.m. after skirting the coast and looping around the border of Virginia and North Carolina, data from flight tracking site FlightRadar shows.
Confusion was sparked after the flight issued an unusual callsign, ORDER01, instead of the usual ORDER6, according to flight data.
The US fleet of four E-4Bs makes regular flights year-round to maintain military readiness.
The E-4B serves as an airborne command center for the president, secretary of defense, and the chairs of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ensure continued critical command, control and communication in case of emergencies.
Each E-4B Nightwatch can carry a crew of up to 112 people and has a range of more than 7,000 miles.
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https://nypost.com/2025/06/18/us-news/us-e-4b-doomsday-plane-makes-unexpected-flight-to-dc-as-trump-weighs-iran-strike/
