The US Navy has shared details with Armada regarding its ongoing plans to replace the force’s existing Boeing E-6B Mercury TACAMO aircraft.
The TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) mission forms a vital part of the United States’ strategic nuclear deterrent. The US Navy’s E-6B Mercury planes act as a communications conduit between the country’s political leadership and America’s nuclear platforms. US nuclear platforms include US Air Force (USAF) Boeing LGM-30G(V)3 Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs) housed in launch silos. The USAF also has responsibility for the air-delivered component of the deterrent. The air-delivered nuclear arsenal includes Boeing AGM-86B air-to-surface missiles, and B-61 and B-83 nuclear bombs. The at-sea component includes Lockheed Martin UGM-133A Trident-D5 Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs).
Should the US president make the order to use nuclear weapons this would be relayed to the E-6B jets and USAF Boeing E-4B National Airborne Operations Centre aircraft. Both these planes form a key part of the US NC3 (Nuclear Command, Control and Communications) infrastructure, performing similar roles. The E-4Bs and E-6Bs can sent aloft in times of tension which affords them a degree of survivability against any incoming nuclear attack aimed at US airbases. Moreover, flying at altitude allows the aircraft to provide a radio relay moving nuclear Command and Control (C2) traffic between bases on the ground, ICBM silos, US Navy ‘Ohio’ class Nuclear-Powered Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBNs) carrying the SLBMs, and the USAF’s Whiteman and Barksdale airbases in Missouri and Louisiana. These two bases are home to the air force’s Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit and Boeing B-52G Stratofortress strategic bombers.
Radio, what’s new?
The E-6B use five communications links to receive and transmit nuclear C2 traffic, known as Emergency Action Messages (EAMs). These include the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) Satellite Communications (SATCOM) system, plus Very Low Frequency (VLF: three kilohertz/KHz to 30KHz), Low Frequency (LF: 30KHz to 300KHz), High Frequency (HF: three megahertz/MHz to 30MHz) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF: 225 megahertz/MHz to 400MHz) links. The AEHF carries traffic securely using an Earth-to-space uplink of 44 gigahertz/GHz. Signals are sent from the satellites to Earth on frequencies of 20GHz. Both the VLF and LF links form part of the Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network (MEECN). MEECN is believed to be primarily used to transmit EAMs to the SSBN force. UHF is the conduit used for the Airborne Launch Control System which transmits EAMs to the ICBM force, while HF EAM traffic is carried across the HF Global Communications System (HFGCS). It is thought that the HFGCS sends EAMs to the B-52Hs and B-2As, and their bases. This combination of SATCOM, VLF, LF, HF, and UHF links provide redundancy in the nuclear C2 chain. For example, should SATCOM links suffer interference or deliberate jamming, other links can pick up the slack.
The show must go on
The US Navy is replacing the E-6B via the TACAMO Recapitalisation Programme. In 2020, the US Navy chose Lockheed Martin’s C-130J turboprop airlifter as the preferred platform to replace the Mercury. Ironically, the United States Navy is going back to the fold by choosing the C-130 as the preferred platform. The original TACAMO aircraft was the EC-130G/Q which entered service in 1968.
A US Navy spokesperson shared that the TACAMO replacement Request for Proposals (RFP) calls for a “minimum of eight and a maximum of twelve E-130J aircraft, comprised of three Engineering Development Models (EDMs), up to three system demonstration test articles, and up to six aircraft in the first lot of production. Additional aircraft will be acquired through future production lots.” The EDMs will be C-130J-30 aircraft and will be delivered in 2026: “The contract award will determine the timeline for modifications and when these EDMs enter service as test aircraft.” When these aircraft will enter service as test platforms is not being revealed due to operational security, the spokesperson continued.
The navy must still decide on a prime contractor for the the nuclear C2 system on the aircraft as per the RFP. Collins Aerospace has already been selected to provide the new VLF architecture. The RFP will “expedite the development, testing and deployment of the critical NC3 system-of-systems by using an existing baseline aircraft (the C-130J-30) and leveraging existing, mature mission systems technology to minimize the need for new development.” What this seems to suggest is that some of the E-6Bs’ existing systems may be ‘cross-decked’ onto the new platform. This would make sense, particularly where systems are relatively recent and not yet in need of replacement. Ultimately, the TACAMO recapitalisation will allow the eventual retirement of “the aging E-6B Mercury fleet allowing the navy to transition the nation’s NC3 capability with no break in coverage.”
by Dr. Thomas Withington
