What is AE 6B Mercury?

What is AE 6B Mercury?

The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The E-6B replaced Air Force EC-135Cs in the “Looking Glass” role, providing command and control of U.S. nuclear forces should ground-based control become inoperable.

What is an E-6B plane?

Communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. The E-6B is a dual-mission aircraft capable of fulfilling either the TACAMO mission or the airborne strategic command post mission and is equipped with an airborne launch control system (ALCS). …

How many E-6B are there?

16 E-6B
The U.S. Navy operates 16 E-6B Mercurys, upgraded to the -B configuration in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The upgrade expanded the E-6B’s mission to include issuing launch orders to America’s fleet of 400 land-based ICBMs.

What is a Mercury plane?

The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command post and communications relay aircraft manufactured by Boeing for the US Navy. The aircraft relays communications for ballistic missile submarine forces and provides airborne command and control for strategic forces.

Why are the doomsday planes in the air?

Known officially to the United States as National Airborne Operations Centers (NAOC), these planes allow leaders to issue commands and wage war from the sky. In operation since the 1970s, these airborne command posts were long considered the best chance for a Cold War president to survive a nuclear attack.

What was the first ship built as an angled deck carrier?

HMS Ark Royal
In February 1955, HMS Ark Royal became the first carrier to be constructed and launched with an angled deck, rather than having one retrofitted.

What is the best flight computer?

Best Analog Flight Computers in 2021

1. ASA E6B Metal Flight Computer. This is the flight computer I personally used during my flight training.
2. ASA Color E6B Flight Computer.
3. ASA E6-B Circular Flight Computer.
4. ASA E6B Paper Flight Computer.
5. Jeppesen Student Flight Computer.

Why is it called E6B?

The device’s original name is E-6B, but is often abbreviated as E6B, or hyphenated as E6-B for commercial purposes. The name comes from its original part number for the U.S Army Air Corps, before its reorganization in June 1941.

What is the Doomsday Plane called?

E-4B Nightwatch aircraft
In a highly unusual move, one of the U.S. Air Force’s E-4B Nightwatch aircraft, also known as National Airborne Operations Centers, or NAOCs, touched down today at Tonopah Test Range Airport (TTR), one of the most famous secretive aircraft operating locations in the United States, only surpassed by nearby Area 51.

What is the role of the E-6B Mercury?

E-6B Mercury Communications relay and strategic airborne command post aircraft. Provides survivable, reliable, and endurable airborne command, control, and communications between the National Command Authority (NCA) and U.S. strategic and non-strategic forces.

When did the Navy change to the E-6 Mercury?

The E-6 fleet was completely modified to the E-6B configuration in 2003. Boeing derived the E-6A from its commercial 707 to replace the aging EC-130Q in the performance of the Navy’s TACAMO (“Take Charge and Move Out”) mission. TACAMO links the NCA with naval ballistic missile forces during times of crisis.

What was the purpose of the E-6B?

The E-6B was conceived as a replacement for the Air Force’s Airborne Command Post due to the age of the EC-135 fleet. The E-6B modified an E-6A by adding battlestaff positions and other specialized equipment.

What kind of plane is the E-6?

The E-6 is a militarized version of the commercial 707 civilian airliner and carries a very low frequency communication system with dual trailing wire antennas. The E-6B was conceived as a replacement for the Air Force’s Airborne Command Post due to the age of the EC-135 fleet.