I've seen some stupid reporting in my time.
Not to mention lots and lots and LOTS of propaganda, hoaxes, and BS leaks meant to shape the information battlefield against common sense.
But seriously, this story has to be one of the stupidest of the...day? week? Certainly not of the month, because CNN or MSNOW has probably broadcast that, or The New York Times has printed it.
If it were about saving the chain of command in case of WWIII, the plane would not be in the Middle East.
— David Strom (@DavidStrom) March 9, 2026
Still, this is amazingly stupid. The Daily Mail wants you to believe that a US Navy E-6B Mercury command and control aircraft flying eastward toward Europe is a warning that we are inching closer to World War III.
What is the E-6B, and what does it do?
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command. Two operational squadrons, the “Ironmen” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 3 and “Shadows” of VQ-4, deploy from their main operating base at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, supported by the Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) Weapons School and the “Roughnecks” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 7, a Fleet Replacement Squadron. They deploy aircrews to forward operating bases at Travis Air Force Base, California; Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska; Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md.; and other locations, as directed.
When you hear that it has been deployed to the Middle East and that its primary mission is nuclear command and control, it sounds very scary.
The US military's terrifying 'Doomsday planes' have taken to the skies as fears of a nuclear war inch closer to reality.
Flight-tracking data has captured multiple launches of the Navy's E-6B Mercury strategic airborne command aircraft since the war in Iran began on February 28.
These giant planes, constructed using the frames of the Boeing 707, are built to survive a nuclear war and coordinate America's military response from the air.
Specifically, the planes serve as a flying radio station and command center for the president and the Secretary of War, carrying special antennas that can even reach nuclear-armed submarines deep underwater.
Along with being able to talk to satellites, land-based military posts and underground missile facilities, the Mercury fleet is capable of controlling a nuclear strike should World War III break out and the US was already under attack.
Two E-6B Mercury flights were spotted over the US on March 2, one traveling from the Gulf Coast and landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland and the other taking off from and later landing back at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska.
Since those flights, there have been reports from military news outlets of more E-6B launches heading across the Atlantic to the Persian Gulf.
Except...you don't send such planes into the war zone. The whole point of them is continuity, right? And the area of operation would be around the continental United States.
So? Why is it going to the Middle East?
I'll say it again:
— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) March 9, 2026
There are NO/ 0/ ZIP/ ZILCH/ NADA/NONE US Navy E-6B Mercury OR US Air Force E-4B NAOC (doomsday) aircraft in/near/over/through/under/above the Middle East.
The article that started this bullshit is a Greek financial news aggregator and says an E-6 departed… https://t.co/h56d9vOba9
There are NO/ 0/ ZIP/ ZILCH/ NADA/NONE US Navy E-6B Mercury OR US Air Force E-4B NAOC (doomsday) aircraft in/near/over/through/under/above the Middle East.
The article that started this bullshit is a Greek financial news aggregator and says an E-6 departed Tinker AFB, OK heading towards the Persian Gulf last seen entering the Atlantic. That plane ended up in Norway.
As far as I can tell, the E-6B was not sent to the Middle East. It does occasionally fly overseas for exercises or training, but operationally, the idea of using a Looking Glass airplane in a war zone is a non-starter.
And why would you even want to?
US Navy E-6B Mercury #AFDE2C departed Oslo, tracking NW.
— Johnny Gemini (@Borrowed7Time) March 9, 2026
Operation Ice Camp Boarfish recently began; aircraft likely participating.
H/T @sipjack1776 for context@LadyAstroJethttps://t.co/CySa9ybBlD pic.twitter.com/p6D6nL6K0v
Writing about a "Doomsday Plane" flying off to a war zone to kick off World War III is just fear porn, good for clicks, but amounts to anti-information.
Still, lots of idiots, including Tucker Carlson, are talking about a nuclear war coming out of Operation Epic Fury, because that is what idiots do for clicks.
After Trump said that Tucker is "Not MAGA," & "not smart," Tucker responsds by releasing an interview critisising Trump's war.
— H.A. Hazony (@HAHazony) March 8, 2026
Tucker allegeds that Trump wants American soldiers to "rape" Iranian women, and that Trump is "moving towards" using nuclear weapons in Iran. pic.twitter.com/pjTK8zeeFl
Propaganda. Fear porn. Misinformation. Nothing more.
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