Lockheed Martin has begun construction of the US Navy’s first E-130J production aircraft under its Take Charge and Move Out program.
Lockheed Martin has begun construction of the US Navy’s first E-130J production aircraft under its Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) program.
The E-130J is based on the company’s C-130J-30 Super Hercules military transport plane and will replace the service’s older TACAMO system, the E-6B Mercury, once completed.
The new aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2026, with two more to follow in the coming years.
Upon induction, the E-130J will be used as a “no-fail” airborne command and control center to manage the US military’s land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles.
It will also be used to coordinate launch sequences of related capabilities between the US President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Strategic Command.
Designation of the latest TACAMO aircraft was revealed in October 2024, with Oklahoma-based US Air Force Strategic Communications Wing 1 selected as the fleet’s future operator.
The E-130J Aircraft
Considering its base airframe, the E-130J is expected to measure 98 feet (30 meters) long and have a wingspan of 133 feet (41 meters).
It will be powered by four engines with approximately 4,600 horsepower each for speeds up to 362 knots (417 miles/670 kilometers per hour) and a service ceiling of 28,000 feet (8,534 meters).
“The E-130J will assure that our nation’s leadership maintains control of its strategic forces as the E-6B gets closer to end of life, and enable it to focus on the performance of other critical missions until sundown,” Strategic Communications Wing 1 Commander Capt. Britt Windeler stated during the E-130J’s designation last month.
A US Air Force C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft assigned to the 36th Airlift Squadron flies over the Izu Peninsula, Japan, March 26, 2018. Image: US Air Force/Yasuo Osakabe