--- title: "U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarine, ‘Doomsday Plane’ Take Part In Rare Show Of Force Off Norway" description: "USS Tennessee and the E-6B Mercury were joined in the Norwegian Sea by a Ticonderoga class cruiser and P-8 patrol plane." date: "2024-06-25" modified: "2024-06-25" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/air/u-s-ballistic-missile-submarine-doomsday-plane-take-part-in-rare-show-of-force-off-norway" categories: - "Air" - "Around The Globe" - "Boomers (SSBNs)" - "Command & Control" - "Cruisers" - "E-6" - "Europe" - "Maritime Patrol" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Northern Europe" - "Ohio Class" - "P-8" - "Russia" - "Sea" - "Submarines" - "Ticonderoga Class" - "U.S. Navy" --- # U.S. Ballistic Missile Submarine, ‘Doomsday Plane’ Take Part In Rare Show Of Force Off Norway ![The Ohio class nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS Tennessee, the Ticonderoga class cruiser USS Normandy, an E-6B Mercury 'doomsday plane,' and a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft recently took part in an unusual show of force in the Norwegian Sea.]() *The Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) and the U.S. Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, USS Tennessee (SSBN 734) steam alongside in the Norwegian Sea, June 23, 2024. Headquartered in Naples, Italy, NAVEUR-NAVAF operates U.S. naval forces in the U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) areas of responsibility. U.S. Sixth Fleet is permanently assigned to NAVEUR-NAVAF, and employs maritime forces through the full spectrum of joint and naval operations. USN* The U.S. Navy's [*Ohio* class nuclear ballistic missile submarine]() USS *Tennessee* recently cruised on the surface in the Norwegian Sea alongside the [*Ticonderoga* class]() cruiser USS *Normandy*. The unusual show of force also included an [E-6B Mercury]() and a [P-8A Poseidon]() maritime patrol plane flying overhead. ![]() *The Ohio class nuclear missile submarine USS *Tennessee* in the Norwegian Sea on June 23, 2024. USN USN* Any decision to highlight the presence of one of these submarines, which are key components of America's nuclear deterrent arsenal and typically keep well out of sight while deployed, inherently sends a message to potential adversaries, such as Russia. *Tennessee*'s appearance in the waters to the northwest of Norway notably follows [a first-of-its-kind visit]() by Russia's advanced [*Yasen-M* class]() nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine *Kazan* (along with other Russian naval vessels) to Cuba earlier this month, which was also clearly meant to send a signal to the United States. ![]() *Another view of *Tennessee*, as well as the *Ticonderoga* class cruiser USS *Normandy*, at right, and a rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB) at left. *USN** U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa (NAVEUR-NAVAF) and U.S. Sixth Fleet, the Navy's top commands in Europe, released pictures of *Tennessee* together with the other naval assets, which were taken on June 23, earlier today. This, at least in part, explains the rare deployment of a Mercury jet to the Royal Norwegian Air Force's Rygge Air Station in the southern end of the country last week. https://twitter.com/TheIntelFrog/status/1803777671337304144 Also known as 'doomsday planes,' the Navy's fleet of 16 Boeing 707-based E-6B jets are critical airborne strategic command posts through which nuclear strike orders would flow, including to [Air Force nuclear bomber units]() in the air and [missile silos on the ground](), if the need were to ever arise. On the naval side, the Mercury aircraft are equipped with specialized [five-mile-long antennas to communicate]() directly with *Ohio* class ballistic missile submarines, or SSBNs, allowing the boats to remain submerged where they are less vulnerable to attack. The Navy calls this mission set Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO), and is looking to supplant the E-6Bs in this role with [a variant of the C-130J]() Hercules turboprop aircraft in the future. The Air Force's airborne nuclear command and control mission set, commonly called Looking Glass, looks set to transition to other platforms, possibly including the service's future Boeing 747-based [Survivable Airborne Operations Center]() (SAOC) jets. ![]() *A picture of an E-6B with a red arrow pointing to the tip of the five-mile-long antenna the aircraft can unspool to communicate with submerged *Ohio* class nuclear ballistic missile submarines. *USAF** A Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) was put out last week warning of "military flight operations with invisible flight hazard" over an area of the Norwegian Sea on June 23. This had suggested that the E-6B at Rygge would conduct a sortie using its trailing antenna to communicate with a submerged SSBN. With what we know now, it is very probable that the E-6B and *Tennessee*, along with *Normandy* and the P-8A, and potentially other assets, trained together ahead of the photo op. It's certainly true that where *Ohio* SSBNs go, in general, an E-6B is usually not that far away. https://twitter.com/M51_4ever/status/1803781336827605097 For their part, NAVEUR-NAVAF and U.S. Sixth Fleet described the show of force as "Multi-Domain Readiness in action" in a post on their shared official account on X. *The War Zone* has reached out for more information about the circumstances behind the newly released pictures and USS *Tennessee*'s general presence in the region. https://twitter.com/USNavyEurope/status/1805588414831399001 The U.S. Navy generally offers scant details about the activities of its 14 *Ohio* class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, or SSBNs, as well as the four other boats in this class [converted into guided missile submarines]() (SSGNs), while they are deployed, though this has been changing more recently. In particular, the *Ohio* SSBNs, also known as boomers, effectively disappear for months on end during patrols to ensure that they can provide credible [second-strike nuclear deterrent capability](). These submarines are arguably the most destructive weapon systems the United States have ever built. As such, the public announcement of the presence of an *Ohio* SSBN in a region has a strategic signaling function, both to potential adversaries and allies and partners, whether explicit or not, as already noted. The pair of USS *Tennessee* with USS *Normandy*, should not be ignored, either. While the Navy is moving ahead with plans to decommission the last of its *Ticonderoga* class cruisers [before the end of the decade](), their 122 vertical launch system cells and extensive air defense command and control capabilities mean they are still among the service's most capable surface warships. Navy P-8As are also [really more than just]() maritime patrol aircraft [with their extensive]() intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and capabilities. We have already discussed the significance of the E-6B. With this in mind, *Tennessee*'s appearance with the other Navy assets in the waters to the northwest of Norway, a NATO ally, over the weekend notably came around a week after *Kazan* and three other Russian naval vessels [wrapped up their visit]() to Cuba's capital Havana. Though U.S., Russian, and Cuban authorities [downplayed the port call]() as routine, Russia's Ministry of Defense did highlight the flotilla's training to conduct strikes on enemy naval vessels while [on their way to the Caribbean](). Earlier in the naval task group's voyage, Russian authorities had also released a video, seen in part below, showing a P-8A in the sights of one of the Palash close-in weapon systems on the Project 22350 frigate *[Admiral Gorshkov]()*. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNnimk4ywC8 Just a couple weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin also threatened to send weapons to unspecified "regions" from where they could be used to strike Western targets. He suggested this as [a means of retaliation in response]() to Ukraine getting approval from the U.S. government and some of its other Western partners to use munitions those countries had supplied to hit targets in Russia proper. The Navy's [attitude]() toward openly discussing SSBN movements [has been explicitly changing]() in [recent years]() amid renewed geopolitical friction, especially with near-peer competitors [like China]() and [Russia](). In 2022, the USS *Tennessee* itself took part in another [highly unusual show of force]() together with an unknown British [*Vanguard* class]() SSBN somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. An E-6B Mercury and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter were also involved in that show of force. The primary armament on both *Ohio* and *Vanguard* class boats are [Trident D-5]() submarine-launched ballistic missiles. These weapons have a multiple independently-targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) configuration and can be loaded with several different nuclear warheads, as you can read more about [here](). For the United Kingdom, the *Vanguards* represent the entirety of its current nuclear deterrent capabilities. ![]() *The USS *Tennessee*, in the foreground, sails together with an unknown British *Vanguard* class submarine, in the background, in 2022. An E-6B and an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter are seen flying overhead. *USN** The recent U.S. naval show of force in the Norwegian Sea also underscores the broader strategic significance of this region, [which is a major corridor]() for Russian submarines and other naval vessels heading to the Atlantic, as well as [the High North more generally](). The U.S. military's relationship with its counterparts in Norway, as well as the [other Nordic countries]() of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden – all of which are now members of the NATO alliance – has steadily grown in recent years. This includes work to refurbish a Norwegian [naval base built under a mountain]() in part to help support U.S. submarine operations in the region and [increased utilization of Norwegian air bases]() by American military aircraft. All this being said, an *Ohio* class SSBN, *Ticonderoga* class cruiser, E-6B Mecury, and P-8A Posideon together in the Norwegian Sea is still a particularly unusual display of both U.S. nuclear and conventional maritime capabilities in a highly strategic region. *Contact the author:* [*joe@twz.com*]() ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()