First E-6B Block II upgrade finished
On 5 June 2023, the first Boeing E-6B Mercury Block II upgrade was accepted by the US Navy at the Northrop Grumman Corporation Aircraft Maintenance and Fabrication Center at Lake Charles (LA).
Pilots from Strategic Communications Wing One (SCW-1) picked up the Mercury with BuNo 164405 (c/n 24504/997) on this day and flew it home to Tinker Air Force Base (OK).
Under an Integrated Maintenance and Modification Contract (IMMC), valued at USD 111 million, with the US Navy, Northrop Grumman will overhaul multiple E-6B Mercury aircraft by 2027.
The contract provides six major modifications – called Block II – to improve the aircrafts’ command, control and communications functions connecting the National Command Authority with US strategic and non-strategic forces. Block II will ensure the E-6B can successfully execute their mission for years to come.
The Mercury is a communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. It executes the Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission, connecting the president and secretary of defense with naval ballistic missile forces during times of crisis, and the Airborne Command Post mission, which facilitates the launch of US land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles using an airborne launch control system.
In December 2020, the E-6B Block I upgrade was completed. Scramble Magazine reported on this programme on 16 December 2020.
Photo via Northrop Grumman Corporation.