Originally Posted by Jimmie76
Those E4B Aircraftalways had 2 on the go one on standby and one would always be in the air at any given point in time. If the National Command Authority was destroyed then the senior general (ranked J something) on the airborne Kneecap would have the responsibility for frying whoever launched first.
I believe the E-4Bs were kept in "hot standby" to fly to whichever NCA member was still around to grab them. Mind you, I was never privy to SIOP so if an E4B was always in the air...
An EC-135 "Looking Glass" 707 was always in the air with a SAC O-7 (Brigadier General) and Battle Staff aboard. On September 25, 1998 the Looking Glass fleet was retired and the Navy's E-6B TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) aircraft took over as they can contact the SSBNs in addition to the USAF nuclear assets the Looking Glass planes could (the Navy used EC-130Qs to talk to the subs during the Looking Glass years).