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E-130J TACAMO to replace US Navy E-6B
The US Navy’s Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) and Strategic Communications Wing 1 (SCW-1) recently announced the name selected for the Navy’s new Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission aircraft: E-130J.
The E-130J – previously called the E-XX while awaiting naming – will relieve the Navy’s E-6B Mercury fleet of the TACAMO mission, which connects the president, secretary of defense and US Strategic Command with naval ballistic missile forces.
E-130J is the aircraft’s mission design series (MDS). The E stands for special electronic installation; 130 is the design number and reflects the aircraft’s origins as the EC-130; and J is the series, demonstrating that it will be modified from a proven C-130J-30 Super Hercules airframe. The common name – e.g., Mercury – has not been selected.
At the request of PMA-271, the US Air Force approved the MDS this month. The Air Force approves all military aircraft names.
PMA-271 is procuring the E-130J through the TACAMO Recapitalization Program. The solicitation, which closed in April 2024, is for a prime contractor to integrate TACAMO mission systems, including the Collins Aerospace Very Low Frequency (VLF) subsystem, into government-furnished C-130J-30 aircraft. Contract award is scheduled for January 2025.
US Navy’s new TACAMO aircraft, the E-130J
“I am proud to announce that the US Navy’s new TACAMO aircraft will be the E-130J,” said PMA-271 Program Manager Capt. Adam Scott, in a NAVAIR news release. “This is an important milestone as we work toward delivering the next generation of TACAMO aircraft to the warfighter.”
Those warfighters are the SCW-1 squadrons home based out of Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. They include the “Ironmen” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 3, “Shadows” of VQ-4 and “Roughnecks” of VQ-7.
“I’m excited as SCW-1 continues to work together with PMA-271 to deliver new capabilities and strengthen America’s nuclear deterrence,” said SCW-1 Commander Capt. Britt Windeler. “The E-130J will assure that our nation’s leadership maintains control of its strategic forces as the E-6B gets closer to end of life, and enable it to focus on the performance of other critical missions until sundown.”
SCW-1
The mission of SCW-1 is to receive, verify and retransmit Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) to U.S. strategic forces.
OC-ALC airframe artisans perform depot work on the Navy’s E-6 Mercury aircraft, which are based on the Boeing 707 airframe. The Wing also operates alert facilities for E-6B aircraft at Travis AFB, California and Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland.
The two operational squadrons, VQ-3 and VQ-4, prepared to move from their former Atlantic and Pacific bases in 1992-1993 and the Wing was formally established on 29 May 1992. Captain Andy Riddile, first commander (“Commodore”) of the Wing, arrived in April 1992.
A separate Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), VQ-7, was later established at Tinker AFB with EC-18 and TC-18 aircraft.
E-6B Mercury
The E-6B Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It provides survivable, reliable and endurable airborne Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications (NC3) for the president, secretary of defense and US Strategic Command.
Boeing derived the E-6A from its commercial 707 to replace the aging EC-130Q in the performance of the Navy’s TACAMO mission. TACAMO links the National Command Authority (NCA) with naval ballistic missile forces. The aircraft carries a Very Low Frequency (VLF) communication system with dual trailing wire antennas. The Navy accepted the first E-6A in August 1989.
The E-6B was conceived as a replacement for the US Air Force’s Airborne Command Post due to the age of the EC-135 fleet. The E-6B modified an E-6A by adding battle staff positions and other specialized equipment. The E-6B is a dual-mission aircraft capable of fulfilling the no-fail TACAMO mission and the Looking Glass mission, which facilitates the launch of U.S. land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles using an airborne launch control system (ALCS). The Navy accepted the first E-6B aircraft in December 1997 and the E-6B assumed its dual operational mission in October 1998. The E-6 fleet was completely modified to the E-6B configuration in 2003.
Photo credit: Lockheed Martin and U.S. Navy
