U.S. Strategic Command's flight early Friday of at least two Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft, known as the "looking glass" planes for airborne control of the nuclear arsenal, was "coincidental" and not in response to President Donald's Trump's positive test for COVID-19, the Defense Department said.
"With regard to reports about E-6B aircraft on alert status, STRATCOM has confirmed these E-6B aircraft were part of pre-planned missions. Any timing to the president's announcement was purely coincidental," Jonathan Hoffman, the Pentagon's chief spokesman, said in a statement.