Russia Investigating Break-In at Top Secret ‘Doomsday Plane’ Meant for Use In Nuclear War

Photo via Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images

Russian authorities have launched an investigation after thieves broke in and stole equipment from a top-secret military aircraft designed for use in the event of nuclear conflict.

Multiple reports picked up an announcement from Russian state media that the theft took place at the Beriev Taganrog Aviation Scientific and Technical Complex. Officials say that the thieves opened a cargo hatch for the highly-classified Ilyushin-80 planes on site, and one of them is now missing 39 pieces of radio equipment.

The Ilyushin-80 is described by media outlets as a “doomsday plane” meant to serve as a mobile command center for President Vladimir Putin and other VIPs to use in case of nuclear war. The aircraft’s design reportedly equips it with life support systems, protective measures for nuclear assault, and specialized tech for maintaining communications with Russia’s armed forces.

The precise details of the plane are a state secret, so it’s currently unclear what level of seriousness can be attributed to the stolen radio components. Nonetheless, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov held a conference call with journalists where he spoke of the theft as an “emergency situation,” said an investigation was underway, and that security would be beefed-up at Taganrog.

“Given such a serious incident, of course there will be an investigation and measures will be adopted to prevent this from happening again,” said Peskov.

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