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A Bird Single-Handedly Brought Down a U.S. Navy’s ‘Doomsday’ Plane That Was Designed for Nuclear War

U.S. Navy's nuclear communication aircraft was inflicted with damage worth millions.

PUBLISHED MAR 7, 2025

E-6B Mercury Airborne Command Post (L) | Flock of geese (R) (Cover Image Source: Tinker Air Force Base (L), Pixabay (R))

The U.S. Navy had its prowess challenged when an unexpected agent brought down its most advanced aircraft. The aircraft was built keeping in mind the most harrowing attacks that can be devised by humans but seem to have missed other beings, stated Popular Mechanics. The bizarre turn of events unfolded in Virginia.

E-6B Mercury - RIAT 2018 (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK) — E-6B Mercury - RIAT 2018 (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, U.K.)

An E-6B Mercury airborne communications aircraft operated by the U.S. Navy was forced to make an emergency landing at Naval Air Station Patuxent in October. The reason for the emergency landing was cited to be a bird. The aircraft had been meticulously created to ensure that during nuclear warfare, the President of the United States could send orders to the nuclear triad. Despite all the facilities put into the plane, it broke down once a bird entered its system.

The aircraft was popularly called the 'Doomsday Plane' by aficionados, stated Daily News. The plane was given such a name because it was supposed to withstand nuclear attacks during its functioning. The aircraft was supposedly practicing a landing maneuver when it struck a bird. During the practice of the 'touch and go' move the bird got sucked into one of the aircraft's four engines. This made the aircraft do an emergency landing at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station when originally it was just supposed to be a touchdown. No crew member was harmed during the proceedings, stated Popular Mechanics.

Officials filed the emergency landing as a 'Class A' incident. As per the U.S. Navy, such an incident results in damages worth $2 million or more or a destroyed aircraft. A situation can also be categorized as 'Class A' if it involves 'fatality or permanent total disability.' However, in this case, it was because of the acquired damages that this categorization was done.

At the time of flying a test and evaluation team was on board, stated Navy Times. They were conducting a system examination and came out with no significant injuries, as per authorities. There is no information regarding what species of bird was involved in the accident. "We don’t know for sure," Tim Boulay, a spokesman for Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, said when asked about the bird's species. The aircraft quickly came back into service within a month while the incident was being investigated.

The aircraft's nickname is TACAMO, standing for "Take Charge and Move Out," stated Popular Mechanics. The name was given because of the primary objective of these aircraft during the Nuclear War. If needed, the aircraft would have to take off and unspool dual wire antennas linked with drag chutes. As the Mercury is circling in the air, the antennas would broadcast low-frequency command signals that can travel hundreds of miles. The aircraft could pick up signals from NCA and order the officials to launch or stop a nuclear attack. This ability to pass on commands with such severe consequences has garnered the aircraft a reputation for being one of the deadliest planes in the skies.