'Doomsday planes' spotted over US after CIA chief's Moscow visit
What's the story
A fleet of Boeing E-6 Mercury aircraft, commonly known as "doomsday planes," was spotted flying over the United States on Tuesday. The unusual sighting came just hours after CIA Director John Ratcliffe's surprise visit to Moscow. The aircraft were seen along the West Coast and central regions of the country, according to flight enthusiasts who tracked them.
Aircraft details
What are 'doomsday planes?'
The E-6 Mercury, a modified Boeing 707, is designed to survive a nuclear war and ensure military coordination from the air.
Public flight trackers began following the aircraft at roughly 1:30pm EST.
FlightRadar24 tracked one such plane identified by hex code AEA92D flying over the Colorado-Wyoming region at 24,000 feet and 602km/h.
Flight patterns
Planes tracked at different locations
Another aircraft, AE7D28, was tracked over the central US near Kansas and Oklahoma at 30,000 feet and 758km/h.
The third plane, AEABAB, was seen further east above Missouri and Arkansas at an altitude of around 35,000 feet and a speed of 871km/h.
A fourth aircraft identified as AF4019 was spotted near the Texas-Oklahoma border at a lower altitude of about 9,500 feet and a speed of 494km/h.
Military exercises
Aircraft landed in Russia amid US-Russia tensions
The unusual military activity comes after Ratcliffe's visit to Moscow.
The news of his trip came as a US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster III transport plane was spotted at a Moscow airport, along with a US diplomatic motorcade.
The flight's arrival was highly unusual given the current tensions between Washington and Moscow.
Ahead of the trip, the US reportedly told Ukraine that a senior delegation would be traveling to Moscow and asked it to suspend strikes until their departure.
Meeting
Ratcliffe's first trip to Russia as CIA director
The trip, believed to be Ratcliffe's first to Russia as CIA director, comes amid stalled US-mediated peace talks with Ukraine.
It also comes after recent US intelligence assessments that suggest a possible shift in Russian President Vladimir Putin's risk calculus regarding NATO members.
The likely goal would not necessarily be to trigger a broader conflict but to test the resolve of the alliance and the Trump administration, CBS reported.