As a maintainer on each of these aircraft and their sisters, I can tell you that they might be older than the hills but are badass. I was with them during operation enduring freedom
@@rodneyschmuland1132 That was years before me and half a world away. Got a real history lesson on the Rivets from an Air Force RECCE pilot on the Rivets… Joint, Quick, Amber, Ball…. Just wish I could remember it all now. Stormy night at Lakenheath in the mid 80s. On a divert waiting to get back to Mom.
In the early 1980s my employer had a contract to maintain a specific system while at Major Field of all 4 E4B's during the time of transition from E4A to E4B. Needless to say, I was able to walk through all of them. Those times remain a high point of my life.
This had to have been made prior to the March 2019 flooding that pretty much heavily damaged this area of the flightline. Last I heard, they're still rebuilding the runway and other facilities around there. Most of these planes are flying out of Lincoln Air National Guard base in Lincoln, Nebraska.
The E-4B is an airborne command post/airborne operations center (AOC) for the National Command Authority. Among other duties, it stands by to assist with passing along nuclear launch orders issued by the President in the event of a nuclear conflict & can communicate directly with all elements of the US nuclear triad. Some may refer to it as a "doomsday plane."
