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Comment by detaro | Hacker News Reader

Counterclaims:

https://twitter.com/trbrtc/status/1311930485959004161

> There's a lot of chatter about those “airborne nuclear command centers”, but these two Boeing E6A Mercury aircraft were indeed flying almost daily since over the past month, publicly available flight data shows: the AE0414 flew at least on 20 days, and the AE0415 at least 14.

https://twitter.com/marcambinder/status/1311921340354564096

> And again, these planes fly daily and there’s a squadron at PAX. This is noise. Attend to your thought patterns and cognitive biases here. I will try do the same. Reality is unsettling enough!

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Yep. I watch flight trackers sometimes that show military aircraft, and there’s a great deal of activity that you wouldn’t expect at first.

There are often electronics intelligence aircraft (EMARRS) circling over Kansas City, I want to say. I first thought that was something to do with protests there, but upon investigation it’s only that there is a nearby base and they’re likely simply training missions. They certainly predated the protests and their frequency didn’t appear to change.

If I understand correctly, they started flying just 20 days ago. Which may indicate time when the President was diagnosed with C-19. Here is some unusual activity 9 days ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryAviation/comments/iy14a9/se...

I wouldn't read too much into large scale exercises nine days ago. These things do happen routinely. Further, it's a very common practice among US government departments to burn off their remaining budgets at the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30th. Large scale exercises are a good way for the DOD to get rid of money it doesn't want.

It's not cause for concern unless unusually high levels of activity continue into October--and even in that case the general purpose will be deterrence rather than fear over any real threat.

I suspect if there was thought to be a real threat then those flights wouldn't be visible on commercial flight tracking sites!

I don't believe there was something unusual going on, but I would not put any weight on visible on commercial tracking on or not.

If it's something clandestine, it may be smarter to hide in "normality" rather than looking obviously "stealthy".

Well, I guess one reason for keeping it public is literally to demonstrate to other nations that the US is prepared for this kind of thing - but I suspect everyone who needed to know that already knew...

"Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost, if you keep* it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world, EH?"

Given that JCS seems to have leveller heads than POTUS (witness their responses to his suggestions of persian gulf aggression or of domestic deployment), I find it reassuring.
"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War room!"
Gutmang na kang du kombat xiya, fo xidawang da imbobo da kombat!

Power and vigilance displays are most effective when seen.
Nuclear strategy accurately reflected in Dr. Strangelove with the (fictional but strategically accurate) Soviet deadman switch, whose effectiveness was blunted by being secret rather than known.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Hand

Development beginning in 1967, three years after the release of Dr. Strangelove, and mostly not functional until the 1980s. Whether the film merely anticipated or actually inspired the weapons management system isn't clear.
American Cold War strategist and generally charming sprite Herman Kahn's 1960 book On Thermonuclear War inspired Kubrik.
https://archive.org/details/onthermonuclearw00kahn/page/n5/m...

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