Boeing E-6 Mercury

The History of the Boeing E-6 Mercury

The Boeing E-6 Mercury was originally developed for the U.S. Navy as an airborne command and communications relay platform to replace the upcoming Lockheed EC-130Q "TACAMO" ("Take Charge and Withdraw") family. The EC-130Q was a production C-130H with VLF launchers for direct communication with ballistic missile submarines, and 18 were eventually delivered.

Such secure, high-level communications were of most interest during the dark days of the Cold War, especially with regard to the launch of nuclear weapons. If ground communications were destroyed in an attack, the aircraft would be required to fill the void.

As such, the E-6 performed the same primary role as the previous EC-130Q, with the new airframe based on the powerful Boeing 707-320 series. However, the E-6 continues to expand communications capabilities to interact with other command aircraft in the sky.

NOTE: The E-6 program was originally intended to be called "Hermes", although it was later dropped under the name "Mercury" at USN's request.

In the early 2000s, Raytheon was tasked with upgrading existing systems with UHF-C3FDM radios, new workstation (Battlestaff) consoles, Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS) and Digital Airborne Interoperability Switching System E-6A fleet (Dias). Joining the ALCS is especially important as it now also provides management for land-based launches of the E-6 ballistic missile, further expanding the strategic reach of the E-6 family. In this way, the E-6 is now a "dual role" performer beyond the original design. The cockpit has been further upgraded to the all-glass look and functionality of the Boeing 737 "Next Generation" series (primarily in response to Global Air Traffic Management (GATM) requirements). The main physical changes to the E-6's structure include a bulge of the fuselage spine behind the cockpit, easily recognizable to the new "E-6B" standard - this bulge houses a new SATCOM antenna array.

Powerplants are four CFM International CFM-56-2A-2 series high bypass turbofan engines capable of a top speed of 600 miles per hour, a range of 7,600 miles and a service ceiling of 40,000 feet. The first E-6B models were delivered in December 1997, and all remaining original E-6A production models have been upgraded to the newer E-6B standard (the final E-6B was delivered in 2003).

In September 1998, the E-6B was selected to replace the USAF's Lockheed EC-135 "Looking Glass" flight command system. Project Looking Glass was designed to deal with the loss of Offutt Air Force Base in a total war by the Global Operations Center (GOC) in Nebraska and put the E-6 fleet in control of most of America's nuclear ballistic capabilities.

The E-6 has remained active in the U.S. military inventory since November 2012??. VQ-3 and VQ-4 remain the only squadrons to manage E-6 use, based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.

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