What is Doomsday Plane E-4B, and why has it landed in DC? Should the world be worried?
The aircraft is spotted so rarely that on the fateful day in 2001, CNN journalist John King, reporting live from Lafayette Park across the White House, noted that such airspace (around the White House) is "generally restricted", and the presence of this aircraft even made US Secret Service agents hyper-alert, as per author Mark H Gaffney's 2007 research paper: "Why Did the World's Most Advanced Electronics Warfare Plane Circle Over The White House on 9/11".NBC journalist Bob Kur called it "the most surreal of this morning's scenes," describing a very slow, low flyover, the research paper also stated.This rarely-seen plane was spotted landing at Joint Base Andrews in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, raising fresh concerns about the US's readiness for a potential large-scale conflict in West Asia, where Israel and Iran are engaged in a full-blown war over Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions.advertisementSocial media is abuzz with speculation that the "Nightwatch's" landing in DC shows heightened alertness within US defence circles.However, the US Air Force has time and again maintained that such flights are routine, as one of the reportedly four planes in the fleet is always on "alert status", ready to launch within minutes.The aircraft's appearance in the media during volatile times is also viewed as a demonstration of military readiness and strategic resilience.THE ROLE OF THE DOOMSDAY PLANEThe E-4B Nightwatch, or the Doomsday Plane, is the nickname for a specially-modified military aircraft designed to serve as a survivable airborne command centre in the event of a nuclear war or national emergency.This aircraft ensures that US military and civilian leadership, most notably the President of the United States, the Secretary of Defence, and top military commanders, can continue to command and control American forces even if ground-based facilities are destroyed.The aircraft is operated by the US Air Force's Air Combat Command.Notably, the aircraft can directly communicate with nuclear submarines, bombers, and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) silos. It is equipped with Very Low Frequency (VLF) and High Frequency (HF) antennas that allow global communications, even during nuclear conflict.THE E-4B IS A FORTRESS IN AIRadvertisementThe jumbo jet was built to withstand a nuclear blast, electromagnetic pulse (EMP), and other forms of electronic warfare. The plane does not even have windows in critical areas, as it is designed to reduce vulnerability to EMP.The jet is also equipped with shielded wiring and hardening to continue operating under severe conditions. The Doomsday Plane can stay airborne for days as it has in-flight refuelling technology, and can accommodate over 110 personnel onboard.The aircraft is continuously updated with the latest technologies, including modern digital communications and hardened systems for cyber defence.It is also reportedly the backup for the Air Force One aircraft for the US President's overseas trips. However, military commanders also use them for various missions.A common myth about the aircraft is that it can launch nuclear weapons. It is a command centre, and not a weapons platform.THE ORIGINS OF THE AIRCRAFTThe E-4B Nightwatch was developed during the Cold War, first entering service in the 1970s. It was originally designed under the Looking Glass programme to ensure the US could retaliate in case of a nuclear first strike by the Soviet Union.Reports suggest that during the Cold War, at least one Doomsday Plane was always airborne. However, after the Soviet Union collapsed, the E-4B no longer flew 24/7 but remained on ground alert.The fleet, however, may reportedly be upgraded in the coming years, given its high maintenance costs and the need for modernised electronics.Must Watch
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First Post
26 minutes ago
- First Post
Trump, Putin to meet at Alaska's largest military base: Why was this remote site chosen?
US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet on August 15 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The choice followed weeks of planning, limited venue availability and strict security needs. The base, steeped in Cold War history, offers unmatched security — and symbolic significance as land once owned by Russia US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighters participate in a close formation taxi, known as an Elephant Walk during the two-week Polar Force exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, US, March 26, 2019. File Image/US Air Force via Reuters United States President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to meet on Friday (August 15, 2025) at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska. The event will mark the first in-person meeting between the leaders of the two nations in more than five years, and the first visit by a Russian head of state to Anchorage. How the venue for the Alaska summit was chosen Selecting a host site for the summit proved far more difficult than usual for a meeting of this scale. August is peak tourist season in Alaska, which left many of the state's larger hotels, convention spaces, and event venues fully booked. In addition, the security requirements for hosting a US-Russia summit are extensive. The venue must provide secure meeting areas, space for motorcade operations, controlled airspace, and infrastructure for sensitive communications. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Officials examined possibilities in Alaska's capital, Juneau, as well as Fairbanks and Anchorage. However, most civilian locations, including several large Anchorage facilities, either lacked the capacity to be sealed off from the public or could not meet the necessary technical and security specifications. When news of the planned meeting began circulating, some prominent Alaskans reportedly contacted Trump's allies offering to host the leaders at their private homes. These offers, while well-meaning, did not meet the required standards for accreditation systems, layered physical security, and dedicated press and support areas. By early this week, organisers concluded that Anchorage — Alaska's largest city and a key transport hub — was the only city capable of hosting the event. Within Anchorage, only Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson met every requirement. Despite initial reservations in the White House about the optics of holding the meeting on a US military installation, the site's readiness and capabilities left no other feasible choice. Why Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson fits the bill Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) is a combined installation of the US Air Force's Elmendorf Air Force Base and the US Army's Fort Richardson. Situated on the northern edge of Anchorage, it is the largest military base in Alaska and home to more than 32,000 people — roughly 10 per cent of the city's population. The base is home to the 3rd Wing of the Pacific Air Forces and houses advanced aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor, described by the US Air Force as unmatched by any known or projected fighter. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It also hosts the headquarters of Alaskan Command (ALCOM), the Alaskan North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Region, and the Eleventh Air Force. For the summit, JBER offers controlled airspace, fortified meeting areas, and the ability to secure perimeter access points. The installation has dedicated space for motorcade staging, press operations, and delegation management — all critical for a meeting involving two major world powers. The base's location carries historic significance as well. The United States purchased Alaska from the Russian Empire in 1867, and the two nations remain geographically close. Alaska's Little Diomede Island lies less than three miles from Russia's Big Diomede Island across the Bering Strait. During the Cold War, Elmendorf was considered a vital strategic outpost in the defence of the US against the Soviet Union, according to historical records from the US Library of Congress. Despite this proximity, Putin will be the first Russian president to set foot in Anchorage. Behind the location decision: from Europe to Alaska The decision to hold the summit in Alaska followed extensive discussions between Washington and Moscow. International political realities played a key role in narrowing the list of options. Since the International Criminal Court issued a war crimes warrant for Putin in 2023, potential European venues — even traditional meeting cities such as Vienna and Geneva — were deemed politically sensitive or impractical. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Russia ruled out European destinations and proposed alternative options, including the United Arab Emirates. Putin himself reportedly described the UAE as 'entirely suitable' for the talks. However, US officials were reluctant to arrange another long-distance trip to West Asia so soon after Trump's visit there in May. Other possibilities included Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has maintained strong ties with both Trump and Putin. In the end, the choice came down to hosting the meeting either in Hungary or the United States, sources told CNN. American officials were reportedly both pleased and somewhat surprised when Putin agreed to travel to US soil. Trump publicly welcomed the decision, saying, 'I thought it was very respectful that the president of Russia is coming to our country as opposed to us going to his country or even a third-party place.' Not everyone viewed the decision as a win for the US. Former national security adviser John Bolton remarked, 'The only better place for Putin than Alaska would be if the summit were being held in Moscow. So, the initial setup, I think, is a great victory for Putin.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What Elmendorf Air Force Base's history tells us Construction of Elmendorf Field began on June 8, 1940, as the US sought to establish a permanent military airfield near Anchorage. The first Air Corps personnel arrived on August 12, 1940. The installation's name and operational structure changed several times in the following years: it became Elmendorf Army Air Base in June 1942 and later Elmendorf Air Force Base in March 1948. The base's runways were completed in January 1941, extended in 1945, and further upgraded with concrete aprons in 1957. Following World War II, Elmendorf played an increasingly important role in North American defense as relations between the United States and the Soviet Union deteriorated into the Cold War. In 2010, Elmendorf Air Force Base and Fort Richardson were merged to form Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson as part of a nationwide base realignment initiative. Over the decades, the base has hosted multiple US presidents. During his first term, Trump visited several times, as did Barack Obama and Joe Biden in their presidencies. In 2015, Obama became the first US president to travel north of the Arctic Circle during his Alaska visit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What will happen at the Alaska summit Friday's meeting is expected to include a one-on-one discussion between Trump and Putin, attended only by translators, in addition to larger-format talks with delegations. The White House has described the event as a 'listening session,' with Trump himself calling it a 'feel-out' meeting. 'The president feels like, 'look, I've got to look at this guy across the table. I need to see him face to face. I need to hear him one-on-one. I need to make an assessment by looking at him,'' US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained in a Tuesday interview with American radio host Sid Rosenberg. Trump has had five known phone calls with Putin this year but has said that an in-person encounter is essential to assess the Russian leader's intentions. Ahead of the summit, Trump will take part in a virtual meeting with European leaders and Ukraine, arranged by Germany, to gather their perspectives. People wearing head cut-outs depicting US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin jump during a protest at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, February 20, 2025. File Image/Reuters He has also promised to speak with them again ahead of the talks, including a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy will not attend the Alaska meeting, ruling out a possible trilateral session. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The symbolism of meeting in Alaska is not lost on either side. With inputs from agencies
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Pentagon risks wasting $800 million as Trump administration cancels two HR software projects
Donald Trump's Navy and Air Force are poised to cancel two nearly complete software projects that took 12 years and well over $800 million combined to develop, work initially aimed at overhauling antiquated human resources systems. The reason for the unusual move: officials at those departments, who have so far put the existing projects on hold, want other firms, including Salesforce and billionaire Peter Thiel's Palantir, to have a chance to win similar projects, which could amount to a costly do-over, according to seven sources familiar with the matter. Trump took office vowing to rid the government of what he calls waste and abuse. Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 4 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals Batch 2 By Ansh Mehra View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 3 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Artificial Intelligence AI For Business Professionals By Vaibhav Sisinity View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass - Batch 2 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program Finance Value and Valuation Masterclass Batch-1 By CA Himanshu Jain View Program The website of the Department of Government Efficiency, the agency he created to spearhead those efforts, lists over $14 billion in Defense Department contracts it claims to have cancelled. But seven months into his presidency, some of his own actions have complicated DOGE's work, from firing the Pentagon's inspector general to issuing an executive order prioritizing speed and risk-taking in defense acquisitions. Coupled with high-level vacancies in the Navy and Air Force that persisted well into the summer, the moves limit oversight of the Pentagon's contracting process and risk wasting hundreds of millions of additional taxpayer dollars as old projects are thrown out and new projects are agreed to, Reuters reporting based on sources, internal emails and documents, shows. "There is a very real sense that we are in the regulatory Wild West with this administration - and it should come as no surprise that the traditional limits of 'normal contracting' are repeatedly going to be pushed and pressed in this environment," said Franklin Turner, a federal contracting lawyer at McCarter & English. Live Events He said it is legal for the government to terminate any contract "for convenience," but said the Pentagon would be on the hook to reimburse the companies for wind-down costs plus take on the cost of any new replacement project. Trump officials say the administration is striving to make the contracting process more efficient. "Defense Secretary Hegseth is doing a great job restoring a focus on warfighters at the DOD while carrying out the American people's agenda to more effectively steward taxpayer dollars," White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said the agency is taking "swift action" to fix the "antiquated" defense contracting process by implementing Trump's executive orders. "This is how we will rebuild the military with necessary speed while ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely in the process," she added. 'STRATEGIC PAUSE' In 2019, Accenture said it had won a contract to expand an HR platform to modernize the payroll, absence management, and other HR functions for the Air Force with Oracle software. The project, which includes other vendors and was later expanded to include Space Force, grew to cost $368 million and was scheduled for its first deployment this summer at the Air Force Academy. An April "status update" on the project conducted by the Air Force and obtained by Reuters described the project as "on track," with initial deployment scheduled for June, noting that it would end up saving the Air Force $39 million annually by allowing it to stop using an older system. But on May 30, Darlene Costello, then-Acting assistant Secretary of the Air Force, sent out a memo placing a "strategic pause" on the project for ninety days and calling for the study of alternate technical solutions, according to a copy of the memo seen by Reuters that was previously unreported. Costello, who has since retired, was reacting to pressure from other Air Force officials who wanted to steer a new HR project to SalesForce and Palantir, three sources said. Palantir co-founder Thiel was an early backer of President Donald Trump and has close ties with key Washington lawmakers, including Vice President JD Vance, whom he supported in a 2022 U.S. Senate race. Palantir in April won a $30 million contract from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to develop an operating system that identifies undocumented immigrants and tracks self-deportations, its largest single award from the agency among 46 federal contract actions since 2011. The Air Force said in a statement that it "is committed to reforming acquisition practices, assessing the acquisition workforce, and identifying opportunities to improve major defense acquisition programs." Accenture, Costello, Palantir and SalesForce did not respond to requests for comment. Space Force, which operates within the Air Force, was set to receive the Air Force's new payroll system in the coming months. But it is also pulling out of the project because officials there want to launch yet another HR platform project to be led by Workday, according to three people familiar with the matter. The service put out a small business tender on May 7 for firms to research HR platform alternatives, with the goal of selecting a company that will recommend Workday as the best option, the people said. Space Force did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Now the Air Force and Space Force "want to start over with vendors that do not meet their requirements, leading to significant duplication and massive costs," said John Weiler, director of the Information Technology Acquisition Advisory Council, a government-chartered nonprofit group that makes recommendations to improve federal IT contracting. Oracle said in a statement it was "working closely with DOGE to accelerate the government's transformation to modern technology at the best price for the taxpayer." 'BEYOND EXASPERATED' In 2022, the Honolulu-based Nakupuna Companies took over a 2019 project with other firms to integrate the Navy's payroll and personnel systems into one platform using Oracle software and known as "NP2". The project, which has cost about $425 million since 2023, according to the Government Accountability Office, was set to be rolled out earlier this year after receiving a positive review by independent reviewer and consulting firm Guidehouse in January, according to a copy obtained by Reuters. But the head of Navy's human resources, now retired Admiral Rick Cheeseman, sought to cancel the project according to a June 5 memo seen by Reuters, directing another official to "take appropriate contractual actions" to cancel the project. Navy leaders instead mandated yet another assessment of project, according to a memo seen by Reuters, leaving it in limbo, two sources said. Cheeseman's reason for trying to kill the project was his anger over a decision by DOGE earlier this year to cancel a $171 million contract for data services provider Pantheon Data that essentially duplicated parts of the HR project. In an email obtained by Reuters, he threatened to withhold funding from the Nakupuna-led project unless the Pantheon contract was restored. "I am beyond exasperated with how this happened," Cheeseman wrote in a May 7 email to Chief Information Officer Jane Rathbun about the contract cancellation, arguing the Pantheon contract was not "duplicative of any effort." "From where I sit, I'm content taking every dime away from NP2 in order to continue this effort," he added in the email. Cheeseman did not respond to a request for comment. Rathbun and Pantheon Data declined to comment. The pausing of NP2 was "unexpected, especially given that multiple comprehensive reviews validated the technical solution as the fastest and most affordable approach," Nakupuna said in a statement, adding it was disappointed by the change because the project was ready to deploy. The Navy said it "continues to prioritize essential personnel resources in support of efforts to strengthen military readiness through fiscal responsibility and departmental efficiency."
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First Post
an hour ago
- First Post
'Trump tariffs were a threat and India, rightly, did not succumb to it': Jeffrey Sachs
Sachs further said that under Trump, the US foreign policy has become impulsive as the country tries to reestablish its dominance, as it keeps losing power in a largely multipolar world today Economist Jeffrey Sachs has hailed India for not falling into US President Donald Trump's tariff threats, saying that he is 'not a very logical or strategic person'. Trump imposed a 50 per cent tariff on India over its import of Russian oil, saying that New Delhi doesn't 'care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine'. Reacting to Trump's actions against India, Sachs told News18, 'Trump does things impulsively. He thought that India would immediately agree to the demands that he made and say, 'We will not buy Russian oil.' This was a threat and India rightly did not succumb to it.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He added that the US president's actions were 'not a well-thought-out strategy'. The economist added that India 'should not trust' the US as its main partner. When asked why the US president targeted New Delhi and not China, which is the bigger Russian crude oil buyer than India, Sachs said, 'Well, he tried to punish China - but China retaliated immediately. It cut off exports of rare earths and rare earth magnets and other components vital for US industry. This is not a matter of principle. This is a matter of threats. This is a matter of what Trump decides to do impulsively, what he thinks he can get away with. So if you're looking for consistency, you're certainly looking in the wrong place. It's not going to come from the US.' Sachs further said that under Trump, the US foreign policy has become impulsive as the country tries to reestablish its dominance, as it keeps losing power in a largely multipolar world today. 'Trump is not a strategist. He's not a logical thinker. He's not a consistent or far-sighted thinker. American foreign policy right now is impulsive. It's short-term. It doesn't work. Trump thinks that he has all the cards vis-a-vis any other country. So he thinks that the great prize of the US market, which is not so dominant nor is it so important for India, gives him the leverage to make whatever demands he wants,' the economist said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
