Lockheed Martin has delivered a newly built C-130J-30 Super Hercules to the US Navy to be converted into the E-130J Phoenix II, the service’s future nuclear command, control, and communications aircraft.
Following delivery at Lockheed Martin’s facility in Marietta, Georgia, the aircraft will undergo mission-systems integration led by prime contractor Northrop Grumman. Collins Aerospace will supply the very-low-frequency communications systems, which will enable the aircraft to transmit emergency messages to submerged ballistic-missile submarines.
The E-130J Phoenix II will replace the Boeing E-6B Mercury in the US Navy’s Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission, which maintains communications between national leadership and US ballistic-missile submarines when conventional communications infrastructure is disrupted.
Derived from the Boeing 707, the E-6B entered service in 1997, with the final aircraft delivered in 2006.
Upgraded Platform
The C-130J-30 offers the US Navy a domestically produced, four-engine platform with the endurance and established performance needed for the TACAMO mission.
The E-130J will feature upgraded avionics, greater electrical power, increased range, improved fuel efficiency, and higher payload capacity.
“This delivery marks a historic milestone for the U.S. Navy, Lockheed Martin, and the nation’s strategic communications network,” vice president of Lockheed Martin’s Air Mobility & Maritime Missions business Trish Pagan said.
“The C-130J-30 Super Hercules continues to evolve and adapt to the needs of our customers, carrying the proven reliability of its lineage while transforming into a new, strategic mission set. It is built to deliver the capabilities our joint force demands and built to last through any operational challenge.”