US 'Doomsday Plane' - E6B drops off radar over atlantic, nobody knows why

Whether a disappearance or a strategic move to maintain secrecy, recent reports suggest that the Boeing E-6B Mercury, aka 'Doomsday Plane' vanished from the radar systems over the Atlantic Ocean on November 28, Friday. At about 8:30 am EDT, just after crossing the Virginia Beach, the plane's transponder went dark; no one knows where it went. Some speculate it's an accident, while others speculate it's on a top-secret mission.

Why are people watching?

E-6B Mercury operates under secrecy; outside observers have limited information. Three days have passed there has been no public confirmation about why the Transponder was switched off. The public tracking system just lost signal, leaving room for misinterpretation. This one is part of a fleet of 16 such planes. It is designed to withstand a Nuclear war-like scenario. It “provides survivable, reliable and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications.” for the Secretary of War and the President.

Why are some people not concerned?

It's designed for resilience against electromagnetic pulses. It operates on a complete analogue system, as opposed to digital systems. Some observers believe that Mercury, with a callsign AFD FE2, shutting off its transponder is a standard operating procedure. However, the timing of the mission is unusual, just after Thanksgiving, when the operations are usually scaled down. Moreover, the Mercury followed a routine southeast path over the Chesapeake Bay and passed the Norfolk naval complex. Just vanishing 60 miles east of the Virginia Capes in the warning zones. A warning zone is a type of airspace that begins at 3 nautical miles outward over domestic and international waters. Within Virginia Capes, Warning areas include W-50, W-38, W-387, and W-72.