E-4B ‘Doomsday Plane’ Flights After Iran Strikes: Separating Fact from Fiction

On June 22, 2025, after the U.S.
struck three key nuclear sites in Iran
, a claim circulated
on X
(
archived
) that the U.S. military’s E-4B “Nightwatch”

—

referred to as the “Doomsday plane”

—

was airborne, suggesting it was related to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.

This post
(
archived
) about the “Doomsday plane” taking flight had garnered more than 4 million views as of this writing:

(X user @HustleBitch_ )

SnapUpdateNowreaders also searched our website for information about the so-called “Doomsday plane.”

On June 22, 2025, two of the Air Force’s four E-4B “Nightwatch” planes flew within the United States, online flight data show. But there’s no proof these flights were related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran.

Data from Flightradar24, a global flight tracking website, show that two
E-4B
planes
operated by the U.S. Air Force made trips on June 22. One of those planes flew from an Air Force base in Nebraska to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, which is outside of Washington, D.C. The other plane took off from the same Nebraska base and landed at an Air Force base in Arizona, the flight data show.

An Air Force spokesperson was unable to provide additional details about the purpose of these flights, so we could not definitively confirm whether they had any connection to conflict in the Middle East.

However, it’s not uncommon for E-4B planes to fly missions that are unrelated to conflicts or emergencies.

E-4B planes “do fly on a routine basis,” Douglas Birkey, the executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told SnapUpdateNowvia email. He added:

Part of that mission time comes from training and exercises to support the primary mission regarding continuity of government. Other times, the E-4B serves as transport for senior government officials, like the Secretary of Defense, because of the onboard communications suite, ability to carry a large press pool, and long flight duration.

For example, as SnapUpdateNow
previously reported
, one of the United States’ four E-4B “Nightwatch” planes flew on June 17, 2025, but that trip wasn’t related to the conflict between Israel and Iran, a spokesperson for the Air Force confirmed.

“The E-4 flew a pre-scheduled mission yesterday, within the United States, that was unrelated to current events in the Middle East,” the Air Force spokesperson told SnapUpdateNowvia email on June 18, 2025.

Data from Flightradar24
show that an E-4B operated by the U.S. Air Force flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on the evening of Tuesday, June 17, 2025. That same plane flew from Maryland to an Air Force base in Nebraska on June 18, 2025, the flight data show.

The Air Force spokesperson did not confirm this was the same flight they referred to, but directed SnapUpdateNowto this
X post
(
archived
) shared on June 18, 2025, that they said contained “more information” about the June 17 flight:

One of the photos in the post shows a white plane with a blue stripe and writing above it. That’s consistent with the appearance of the E-4B shown in photos
on the Air Force website
.

E-4B “Nightwatch” can serve as command center during war or emergency

The E-4B, also known as “Nightwatch,” is a “militarized version” of the Boeing 747-200 commercial airplane, the Air Force explains
on its website
. It essentially serves as a command center for the president, secretary of defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff during war or other emergencies.

If there is a national emergency or ground-based command and control centers are destroyed, the plane “provides a highly survivable command, control and communications center to direct U.S. forces, execute emergency war orders and coordinate actions by civil authorities,” according to the Air Force.

The plane’s main deck is divided into six areas

—

a command work area, conference room, briefing room, an operations team work area, communications area and rest area

— and can seat a crew of up to 112 people. It

has features that are designed to protect it from the effects of a nuclear blast as well as an “advanced satellite communications system,” the Air Force says.

The E-4B also transports the secretary of defense and their staff during international travel, ensuring the team stays connected to military command and control structures.

In order to “provide direct support” to the president and other defense leaders, at least one E-4B is always on alert 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at one of many selected bases throughout the world, according to the Air Force.

For further reading, SnapUpdateNow


investigated


whether Iranian state TV announced, “Tonight, a great surprise will occur, one that the world will remember for centuries.” We also


looked into a video


that claimed to show Iranian missiles

striking

Israel in June 2025.

Sources:

Air Force spokesperson. “Re: Urgent inquiry: Fact check – E-4B Nightwatch.” Received by Megan Loe. 18 June 2025. Email Interview.