Between American military operations in Venezuela and Iran, anti-ICE protesters screeching in the streets, mass demonstrations in Iran, ongoing terrorist attacks in our cities, and other conflicts, you can understand why some Americans are feeling a little jittery. It’s hardly a surprise, then, when some observers were freaked out when the “Doomsday plane” landed at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday.
The Air Force plane, a Boeing E‑4B Nightwatch, is equipped to become a floating Pentagon in the sky and maintain operations even if catastrophe hits — a doomsday scenario — and is built to withstand nuclear and even EMP attacks. It also boasts massive communications abilities.
The question is, however, what the heck was it doing at LAX? Air buffs are reporting that it’s the first time it’s been seen there in its 51-year history:
The federal government’s Boeing E-4B Nightwatch — a military aircraft known, somewhat alarmingly, as the “Doomsday Plane” — touched down at Los Angeles International Airport this week, in what may be the famed aircraft’s first-ever LAX landing.
Aviation enthusiasts spotted the plane on Thursday on its approach to LAX. Billed by the U.S. Air Force as a “highly survivable command, control and communications center.”
The plane is equipped to serve as an airborne operations center for the president, the Defense Secretary and the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the event of a disaster that wipes out command centers on land.
The sighting quickly had worried social media posters running to their keyboards. “WAR IMMINENT?” wrote one.
🚨 WAR IMMINENT? 🇺🇸 #LosAngeles #California
— Defense Intelligence (@DI313_) January 9, 2026
For the first time in its more than 50 year operational history, the Boeing 747 E 4B Nightwatch, widely known as the Doomsday Plane, was seen at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday evening.
The rare appearance of this… pic.twitter.com/NaT8aVR7sp
Turns out that the reason it touched down was not so dramatic. The plane was used to transport Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to SoCal so he could speak to defense companies as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour. He was met on the tarmac by RedState's Pentagon correspondent, R.C. Maxwell.
Just joined @PeteHegseth for the Los Angeles leg of his Arsenal of Freedom tour.
— R.C. Maxwell 🇺🇸 (@RCMaxw3ll) January 9, 2026
Tomorrow should produce some eyepopping content. https://t.co/4WItAYKcKc pic.twitter.com/skMuqcoocM
It’s not the first time in recent months that the Doomsday has caused speculation: in June, one landed at Joint Base Andrews.
Los Angeles journalist Jeff Vaughn reports that one may be stationed near the White House in the future:
During this time of heightened tensions in and outside the US, the Boeing E-4B Nightwatch, also known as the the "Doomsday Plane," is on a so-called "industrial tour." Its first stop: Los Angeles with a landing at LAX.
— Jeff Vaughn (@JeffVaughn) January 9, 2026
I'm told one of the two Doomsday planes will be… pic.twitter.com/Wh6N4Vbjja
I'm told one of the two Doomsday planes will be permanently stationed at Camp Spring, near the White House, moved from its former home at Offutt AFB in Nebraska.
The Doomsday, or Doomsdays, since there are reportedly four of them, are some bad boy aircraft:
"The E-4B, a militarized version of the Boeing 747-200, is a four-engine, swept-wing, long-range, high-altitude airplane capable of refueling in flight. The main deck is divided into six functional areas: a command work area, conference room, briefing room, an operations team work area, communications area and rest area. An E-4B may include seating for up to 111 people, including a joint-service operations team, Air Force flight crew, maintenance and security component, communications team and selected augmentees," as per the US Air Force.
The aircraft can stay in the air for up to 12 hours without refuelling and is equipped for mid-air refuelling to extend its flight time further. Designed to maintain global communications and continue operations even if ground-based command centres are compromised, it effectively serves as a mobile Pentagon in the sky.
The “Doomsday Plane” was on the move! The Boeing 747 E-4B Nightwatch departed LAX around 2:30pm PST Friday, followed by a C-17, as seen live on Airline Videos Live on January 9th, 2026. pic.twitter.com/LqvzhFcEXh
— AIRLINE VIDEOS (@airlinevideos) January 9, 2026
Check out this impressive machine:
(EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece was edited post-publication for clarity.)
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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