The aircraft retains its cabin windows but is reportedly protected from EMP by shielding its equipment and wiring, while also retaining analog instruments inside the cockpit. The 'Doomsday Planes', otherwise known as the 'Nightwatch' aircraft, or more accurately the Boeing E-4B 'Advanced Airborne Command Post' (AACP), a militarized version of the Boeing 747-200, are. Russia is dusting off its aging fleet of doomsday planes as an increasingly erratic President Vladimir Putin has reportedly ordered military drills. Designed during the Cold War, the four planes are built to endure the immediate. (informal) An aircraft to be used as an airborne command post in the event of nuclear war or similar.
The American counterpart has the calling name Nightwatch and was developed from Boeing's 747 aircraft, a good decade before the Maxdome even took its first flight. The E-4B, or doomsday plane, is a highly survivable flying fortress used to transport the secretary of Defense. NounEdit doomsday plane (plural doomsday planes). A retractable fueling probe is placed below the cockpit.
The aircraft also houses two large electrical generator pods placed inwards of its engines, which have air intake scoops and jet exhausts at their ends. The tail of the aircraft also houses a winch for a towed, very low-frequency (VLF) antenna, while horizontal stabilizers also have space for more sensors or communication antenna. The upper deck doors on the aircraft have been reduced in numbers while only one airstair remains.Ī large SATCOM canoe sits on top of the fuselage in the front with large antennae in its aft. These changes were put into effect to protect the occupants from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or nuclear explosion. The cockpit retains its windows but with a baffle blocking them. The E-4B, a militarized version of the Boeing 747-200, is a four-engine, swept-wing, long-range high-altitude airplane capable of refueling in flight. Maxdome is notably different from its commercial counterpart since one does not see the cabin windows on the aircraft. The calling name for the aircraft is Maxdome, although some refer to it as Camber, a term used by commercial navigation for the II-86s. Developed using Ilyushin's II-86 aircraft as a model, the II-80s are visibly very different from the commercial aircraft.