Looking Glass (Airborne Command Center)

Looking Glass is the code name for the airborne command center of the Strategic Command for the US nuclear forces ( English Airborne Nuclear Command Post , ABNCP ).

General

US Navy E-6 Mercury

Looking Glass is the name of a Boeing E-6 B (also called E-6 B Mercury) aircraft that functions as a flying command post to direct the deployment of all nuclear weapons carriers (submarines, bombers and land-based missiles) in the event of war . The name Looking Glass comes from the fact that this aircraft unites and mirrors the land-based command, control and communication facilities (their redundancy guarantees). This ensures that the National Command Authority is able to continue to control nuclear weapons even in the event of partial or total loss .

history

The now deactivated Strategic Air Command began on February 3, 1961 with a converted Boeing KC-135 (designation: EC-135 ) with the provision of an ABNCP that was in the air around the clock. Since then, at least one of the Looking Glass aircraft has been permanently in the air for almost 30 years during the Cold War . Over 281,000 flight hours were achieved without an accident.

On July 24, 1990, the concept of permanent availability of an airborne ABNCP was abandoned as a result of the weakening of the nuclear threat caused by the political changes in the Soviet Union . Since then, only one machine has been kept on the ground in full alert around the clock .

On October 1, 1998, the US Navy took over the task of the Air Force with its own E-6 B Mercury ( TACAMO ).

See also

• Nuclear war
• TACAMO communication system
• Film Condition Red

Web links

• Official data sheet at stratcom.mil (English)
• Looking Glass at globalsecurity.org (English)
• Looking Glass at fas.org (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Flying with the A-Bomb on Board: “Looking Glass” ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The  archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on nebraskastudies.org (English)