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The Boeing E-4B Nightwatch is an aircraft little known to the general public, but it has a fundamental role in the defense of the United States.
Externally, the E-4B Nightwatch, based on the famous Boeing 747, is often confused with the Boeing VC-25, the VIP transport aircraft known by the call sign "Air Force One" that it receives when the US president flying on board. Like the VC-25, and also operated by the United States Air Force (USAF), specifically by the 595th Command & Control Group, the E-4B is designed to transport the president, but in the event of a nuclear war, to prevent a nuclear attack from disrupting the chain of command necessary to launch a counterattack.
The E-4B replaced the EC-135J as part of Operation Looking Glass, the U.S. plan to replace land-based bases under nuclear attack and transfer their functions to an airborne command and control center. The EC-135s of Operation Looking Glass remained in service (at least one of the aircraft) for 29 years, until 1990, to ensure a continuous operational airborne outpost in the event of an attack. Today, the E-4Bs are not permanently in service, but they are always ready to take off within minutes and have the capability to remain airborne for up to a week.
The USAF currently operates four E-4B Nightwatch aircraft. There is a program underway to replace them with the more modern E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC), based on the Boeing 747-8I, which are expected to be operational by 2032. A few days ago, the YouTube channel Neo published an interesting report explaining the origin of Operation "Looking Glass" and how the E-4B works, as well as showing what these aircraft look like inside:
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Main photo: U.S. Air Force. The four USAF E-4B Nightwatch aircraft at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, on June 1, 2009.
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