Russia Producing Two 'Doomsday Planes' As Mobile Command Centers In Nuclear War

Russia Producing Two New 'Doomsday Planes' As Mobile Command Centers In Event Of Nuclear War

TYLER DURDEN

Meet Russia's state of the art, currently in development, 'Doomsday plane', which is intended to transport the country's senior political and military leadership in any future instance of a nuclear attack:

The Russian Air Force and Space Forces will receive two airborne commanding posts based on the Il-96-400M plane, according to Russian government news agency RIA Novosti, citing a source in the country’s defense sector.

The Il-96-400M is the modernized version of the Il-96 long-haul, wide-body civilian jetliner. An Il-96 variant currently operates as President Vladimir Putin’s primary means of travel by air, similar to that of the United States’ Air Force One.

Currently the Ilyushin-80 serves as the country's doomsday plane - a modified Il-86 - and is from the soviet era, acting as a mobile command post outfitted advanced radio equipment designed to maintain military communications between the top brass and units below in any imagined apocalyptic scenario.

Interestingly these aircraft, with much of the equipment aboard deemed classified, don't have windows outside of the cockpit in order to prevent passengers from being blinded by any nuclear detonation, also to mitigate radiation fallout.

Russian Aerospace Forces operate four available Il-80 air command posts. "The Russian Aerospace Forces will receive two air command posts based on the Il-96-400M. One is in production," RIA Novosti said this week. According to the new reporting, a third new airplane based on the in development upgraded version is expected after the first pair are produced. 

Also according to Russian media reporting, the newly built aircraft "will have a much longer range, have the ability to refuel mid-air and be even able to communicate with submarines within a 6,000km radius."

Among its most vital roles other than evacuating the Russian president and top commanders, the aircraft will be specially equipped to communicate nuclear launch orders and codes to strategic aviation and submarines, or anywhere nuke-capable missile launchers are located.