3/21/2018 Boeing E-6 Mercury - Wikipedia

Boeing E-6 Mercury

The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly E-6 Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based
E-6 Mercury
on the Boeing 707-320. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United
States Navy in July 1989, replacing the EC-130Q. This platform, now modified to the E-6B standard, conveys
instructions from the National Command Authority to fleet ballistic missile submarines (see communication with
submarines), a mission known as TACAMO (TAke Charge And Move Out). The E-6B model deployed in October 1998
also has the ability to remotely control Minuteman ICBMs using the Airborne Launch Control System. The E-6B
replaced Air Force EC-135Cs in the "Looking Glass" role, providing command and control of U.S. nuclear forces should
ground-based control become inoperable. With production lasting until 1991, the E-6 was the final new derivative of
the Boeing 707 to be built.[2]

Role Airborne command and

Contents control
Manufacturer Boeing
Design and development
Operational history First flight 19 February 1987
Specifications Introduction August 1989
See also Status In service
References Primary user United States Navy
Notes
Bibliography Number built 16

External links Unit cost US$141.7 million[1]

Developed from Boeing 707-320

Design and development

Like the E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, the E-6 is adapted from Boeing's 707-320 airliner. The
first E-6 made its maiden flight from Boeing's Renton Factory on 19 February 1987, when it was flown to Boeing Field, Seattle, for
fitting of mission avionics. The aircraft was delivered to the Navy for testing on 22 July 1988. The E-6A, which was initially named
Hermes, entered service with VQ-3 on 3 August 1989, with the second squadron, VQ-4 receiving its first E-6As in January 1991,
allowing the EC-130Q to be phased on in June that year. The E-6A was renamed Mercury in autumn 1991 by request of the US
Navy.[3] Sixteen were delivered from 1988 to 1992.[4]

The E-6B is an upgrade of the E-6A. It included a battlestaff area and updated mission equipment. The flight deck systems were Navy E-6B Mercury at the Mojave
later replaced with an off-the-shelf 737 Next Generation cockpit. This greatly increases the situational awareness of the pilot and Air and Space Port
saves significant cost over the previous custom avionics package. The first E-6B was accepted in December 1997. All 16 E-6A
aircraft were modified to the E-6B standard, with the final delivery taking place on 1 December 2006.[5]

Operational history
Codenamed Looking Glass, it is United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM)'s Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), designed to take over in case the Global Operations
Center (GOC), located at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is destroyed or incapable of communicating with strategic forces. The term "Looking Glass" is used because the
ABNCP "mirrors" the abilities of the US Strategic Command GOC to control nuclear forces.[6]

The E-6 fleet is based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, and operated by Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3), VQ-4, and VQ-7.

Specifications
Data from Navy Fact File[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 22
Capacity: 22
Length: 150 ft 4 in (45.8 m)
Wingspan: 148 ft 4 in (45.2 m)
Height: 42 ft 5 in (12.9 m)
Detail of the E-6's wingtip
Loaded weight: 342,000 lb (154,400 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 342,000 lb (154,400 kg)
Powerplant: 4 × CFM International CFM56-2A-2 high-bypass turbofans
Performance

Maximum speed: Mach 0.862 (600 miles per hour or 520 knots or 970 kilometres per hour)
Range: 6,600 nmi (7,590 mi, 12,144 km) with 6 hours loiter time
Service ceiling: > 40,000 ft (12,200 m)

See also
Related development

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-6_Mercury 1/2
3/21/2018 Boeing E-6 Mercury - Wikipedia

Boeing 707
Airborne Launch Control System

Aircraft of comparable role, configuration and era

Boeing E-4
Boeing EC-135
Northrop Grumman E-10 MC2A
Ilyushin Il-80
Tupolev Tu-142MR

Related lists

List of active military aircraft of the United States

References

Notes
1. "US Navy Fact File: E-6B Mercury airborne command post." (http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=800&ct=1) U.S. Navy. Retrieved: 4 March
2007.
2. Breffort, 2008. p. 235.
3. Francillon 1995, p. 21.
4. Breffort, 2008. p. 93
5. Walsh, Madonna and Brad Mudd. "Boeing Delivers Final Upgraded E6-B to U.S. Navy." (http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q4/061201b_nr.html) Archived (http
s://web.archive.org/web/20061205110326/http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q4/061201b_nr.html) 5 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine. Boeing, 1
December 2006. Retrieved: 18 June 2011.
6. USSTRATCOM ABNCP Fact Sheet (http://www.stratcom.mil/Media/Factsheets/Factsheet-View/Article/960928/e-6b-airborne-command-post-abncp/)

Bibliography
Francillon, René J. "Messenger of the Gods: The Boeing E-6 Mercury in USN Service." Air International, Vol. 48, No 1, January 1995, pp. 19–24.
Breffort, Dominique. Boeing 707, KC-135 and Civilian and Military Versions. Paris: Histoire & Collections, 2008. ISBN 978-2-35250-075-9, pp. 93–94

External links
E-6B Mercury Fact File page (http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=1100&tid=800&ct=1)
USSTRATCOM ABNCP Fact Sheet (http://www.stratcom.mil/Media/Factsheets/Factsheet-View/Article/960928/e-6b-airborne-command-post-abncp/)
E-6 Mercury (TACAMO) page at FAS.org (http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/c3i/e-6.htm)
E-6 Mercury page on tech.military.com (http://tech.military.com/equipment/view/89732/e-6-mercury.html)

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