Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

E-6 Mercury

 
Wikipedia: E-6 Mercury
E-6 Mercury
Role Command and Control
Manufacturer Boeing
First flight February 1987
Introduced August 1989
Primary user United States Navy
Number built 16
Unit cost US$141.7 million
Developed from Boeing 707-320

The Boeing E-6 Mercury is an American military aircraft. It operates as an airborne command post and communications center, relaying instructions from the National Command Authority. Its role in relaying to the fleet ballistic missile submarines gives one of its missions the acronym TACAMO ("Take Charge and Move Out").

Contents

Design and development

Like the E-3 Sentry AWACS, the E-6 Mercury is adapted from Boeing's 707-320 commercial airliner. Only one version of the E-6 currently exists, the E-6B. The E-6B is an upgraded version of the E-6A that now includes a battlestaff area and new flight deck systems replacing the aging 1970s-style cockpit with an off-the-shelf 737 Next Generation cockpit. This greatly increases the situational awareness of the pilot and saves significant cost over a custom avionics package.

Navy E-6 Mercury at the Mojave Airport

The first E-6A was accepted by the US Navy in August 1989, sixteen were delivered up to 1992. The first E-6B was accepted in December 1997 and the entire E-6 fleet was modified to the E-6B standard, with the final delivery taking place on 1 December 2006.[1]

Navy E-6 Mercury at the Mojave Airport

Operational history

The E-6B is a national asset. Operational information is reserved for sailors in the TACAMO (Take Charge and Move Out) community.

Specifications

Detail of the E-6's wingtip

Data from Navy Fact File[2]

General characteristics

  • Crew: 12-14
  • Capacity: 23
  • Length: 150 ft 4 in (45.8 m)
  • Wingspan: 148 ft 4 in (45.2 m)
  • Height: 42 ft 5 in (12.9 m)
  • Loaded weight: 342,000 lb (154,400 kg)
  • Max takeoff weight: 342,000 lb (154,400 kg)
  • Powerplant:CFMI CFM-56-2A-2 high-bypass turbofans

Performance

See also

Related lists

References

External links


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "E-6 Mercury" Read more