Airborne Nuclear Command News Today

After 26 years of service with the Marines, Graham works as a professor, lab director, and coach at Penn State.

In a military that operates Raptor stealth fighters, A-10 tank busters, B-52 bombers and Harrier jump jets, the U.S. Navy’s placid-looking E-6 Mercury, based on the 707 airliner, seems particularly inoffensive. But don’t be deceived by appearances.

The E-6 command and control plane could order a launch in response to a nuclear attack. Key point: The airborne command post helps to ensure deterrence by showcasing how the President could still give orders from the air. Here is how the Cold War-era role is still kept today. In a military that operates Raptor stealth fighters, A-10 tank busters, B-52 bombers and Harrier jump jets, the U.S. Navy’s placid-looking E-6 Mercury, based on the 707 airliner, seems particularly inoffensive. But don�...

Controlling the Nukes: This Military Plane Could Easily Destroy the World The U.S. Navy’s placid-looking E-6 Mercury, based on the 707 airliner, seems particularly inoffensive, but that is a lie. Heres What You Need to Remember: The E-6 platform should remain in service until 2040 thanks to a service-life extension program and continual tweaks to its systems and radios. While the Mercury has demonstrated its usefulness as an airborne communication hub for supporting troops in the field, the ...