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In a press release, Collins Aerospace, a unit of Raytheon Technologies, has already confirmed that it has been awarded the contract for the VLF equipment that will be integrated into the C-130J aircraft for the Navy's TACAMO mission.Ī spokesperson for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division told The Drive that the Navy preferred a domestically made small aircraft for the mission. The Drive reported that the satellite communication gear was visible on the wing tips, rear fuselage as well as landing gear fairings. While the Lockheed Martin display was only an artist's rendering of the upcoming aircraft, long trailing wires for very-low-frequency (VLF) communication were evident in the images. It has a crew capacity of six-plus, which includes five electronic communication system operators. Used largely to transport cargo, the aircraft has a load-carrying capacity of 130,000 pounds. Powered by four Rolls Royce AE turboprop engines, this almost 100 feet long aircraft has a cruise speed of 400 mph and climbs at 2,100 feet per minute to reach operational altitude in less than 15 minutes.
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Navy has made plans for their eventual replacement operational.īy choosing the proven airframe of the "Hercules" EC-130J aircraft, the Navy has repeated Cold War-era history, when a previous variant, the EC-130Q served TACAMO missions.
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The aircraft has been in service since 1989 and the U.S. The Navy is currently using Boeing's E-6B Mercury aircraft for this purpose and currently has 16 such aircraft that can connect and command ballistic missile submarines of the naval fleet. Navy also operates a similar command and control aircraft that it refers to as the Take Charge And Move Out or TACAMO mission. Air Force's counterpart, the Boeing E-4B. Recently, we had covered the Illyushin II-80, the Russian doomsday plane, and compared it to the U.S. Get more updates on this story and more with The Blueprint, our daily newsletter: Sign up here for free.