Trump's Doomsday Plane: What's Inside The Government's Last-Resort Jet

President Donald Trump's doomsday plane has been spotted around Los Angeles recently, leading many to wonder if we're in the midst of a global thermonuclear war. The answer to that one is a resounding "it sure doesn't seem like it," but it's led me to wonder something different: What actually goes on inside a doomsday plane? Air Force One did a pretty good job in its role in "Independence Day," what does this E-4B do better?

If Air Force One is an Oval Office in the sky, then the doomsday plane — the E-4B Nightwatch to the armed forces, which is arguably cooler than just calling it doomsday — is a mobile version of Dr. Strangelove's war room. Rather than a series of comfy couches and leather chairs, the doomsday plane is full of satellite communicators, emergency phones, and radio antennae. Essentially, the doomsday plane is meant to let the President and Secretary of Defense coordinate the military from 30,000 feet, even in times of war. 

The Aviationist got its hands on footage from inside the doomsday plane, providing the best look inside the E-4B (or one of the E-4Bs, given that the Air Force has four of them) since journalists were allowed to photograph the interior more than a decade ago. Much of the interior looks the same. There's a series of communications desks, meant to let the Commander in Chief and Secretary of Defense communicate with generals, military bases, and presumably the pizza places near the Pentagon. 

While Air Force One is meant to let the President, staff, and even press travel in relative comfort, the doomsday plane is built and outfitted for one purpose: Keeping lines of communication going when every other bit of infrastructure has fallen away. It's nice to know that such planes are always kept ready to go, if only because such readiness means that seeing one doesn't mean the end of the world — one of the planes may just be getting gas.