US 'Doomsday plane' spotted circling nuclear command base as officials release statement

An aircraft dubbed a 'Doomsday Plane' was spotted flying around parts of the Midwest.

The US Navy is thought to own 16 Boeing E-6B Mercury jets, which are described as being a 'communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft', as per Navair.

"It provides survivable, reliable and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and U.S. Strategic Command," the website adds.

'Doomsday Planes' are modified versions of the Boeing 747-200 (aviation-images.com/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The aircrafts in question, which are thought to be worth over $140,000,000 each, have the ability to remotely launch Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles and can refuel while still airborne, meaning it can fly for up to 72 hours.

One of the 16-strong fleet took off from the Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, around 9am local time yesterday (March 10) and circled parts of Nebraska, Mail Online reports.

Flight tracking data showed that the jet circled around the city of Omaha before heading back to the Oklahoma base around seven hours later.

The outing comes at the same time as President Trump's ongoing trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China; something which has become even more heated in the wake of Premier of Ontario Doug Ford announcing a huge tax increase on Canadian energy used by Americans.

Trump has since doubled his planned tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium.

The US Navy Boeing E-6B Mercury is worth over $140 million (Arcturus/Wikimedia Commons)

But officials insist that the timing of yesterday's 'Doomsday Plane' flight and the tensions between the US and its neighboring countries was 'purely coincidental'.

US Strategic Command spokeswoman Karen Singer said in a statement: "I can confirm these flights were pre-planned missions.

"Any timing to the President’s announcement is purely coincidental."

As well as the ongoing tensions between the US, Canada, Mexico and China, Trump recently spoke about a nuclear weapons being the world's 'greatest threat' — implying it was more of a concern that climate change.

Donald Trump is embroiled in a tariff war with America's neighboring countries (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"I listen to these climate lunatics and they talk about global warming, and they say the ocean is gonna rise one-eighth of an inch over the next 300 years," he told Fox News in recent days.

"Nobody ever talks about nuclear weapons...they don't talk about the dangers of a nuclear weapon, which could happen tomorrow."

Trump added: "We spend a lot of money of nuclear weapons - the level of destruction is beyond anything you can imagine.

"It's just bad that you have to spend all this money on something that if it's used, it's probably the end of the world."

As of June 2024, nonprofit 80,000 Hours said that the chances of a nuclear war in the next 100 years was 20 - 50 percent.