A US "Doomsday plane" disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean on Friday in what's believed to have been a highly secretive operation.
The US Navy Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft vanished from radar systems after leaving Maryland at approximately 8.30am, local time.
The plane travelled southeast across Chesapeake Bay and passed the Norfolk naval complex before heading out to sea.
Its transponder signal stopped 60 miles east of the Virginia Capes - standard procedure for classified operations.
The aircraft was operating with the callsign AFD FE2 when it vanished from civilian flight-tracking systems during its transatlantic journey.
The E-6B Mercury is one of only 16 specialised aircraft that function as airborne command centres for US Strategic Command, the Secretary of War and the President.
These planes are capable of carrying out nuclear strike commands if required.
The aircraft conduct so-called "Tacamo" (Take Charge and Move Out) missions to maintain communications with US strategic forces, including ballistic missile submarines, even in nuclear conflict scenarios.
The US Navy Boeing E-6B Mercury aircraft vanished from radar systems after leaving Maryland (file photo)
|US NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND
During these operations, the Mercury enters restricted airspace and deploys trailing wire antennas which extend for several miles.
The plane then flies in circular patterns for between four and eight hours while it sends encrypted messages to submarines and ground facilities.
The Mercury fleet forms part of Operation Looking Glass, formally designated as the Airborne Command Post, which ensures communication with American nuclear forces should ground-based command facilities be compromised.
The squadron's purpose is to enable the President and Secretary of War to communicate directly with US submarines, bombers and missile silos in the event of a nuclear war.
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The aircraft conduct so-called 'Tacamo' missions to serve as a flying base in the event of World War Three
|WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
The Friday flight fell one day after Thanksgiving, when US strategic forces tend to dial down their operations before resuming normal readiness levels.
Boeing built the Navy's Mercury fleet between 1989 and 1992, engineering the aircraft to survive electromagnetic pulses from nuclear explosions.
The planes utilise analogue systems rather than digital technology, which would fail in World War Three.
Atomic arsenals, MAPPED: Estimated global nuclear warhead stockpiles in 2025 | GB NEWSBoeing says the Tacamo planes support the Navy's ballistic missile submarine force, "providing a vital link to the force from national command authorities".
Earlier this year in March, flight tracking systems recorded a Mercury departing Tinker Air Force Base and circling near Omaha, close to Offutt Air Force Base.
Offutt serves as a nuclear command, control and communications facility supporting national leadership and military personnel.
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