The E-6B Mercury that executes the "Take Charge And Move Out" (TACAMO) mission for America's sprawling nuclear apparatus, basically delivering commands from the National Command Authority that can send nuclear-armed ballistic missiles flying during a nuclear apocalypse, is an incredible aircraft. Not only were they among the last Boeing 707 derivatives ever built, but they are also packed full of EMP hardened systems and highly skilled crews that would literally hold the world as we know it in their hands during a major crisis. Although advanced and highly secure satellite communications and line-of-sight data-links are critical parts of their capability set, a far more cumbersome system is used to talk to ballistic missile submarines hiding deep below the waves. The deployment of this fascinating capability was caught today by a plane tracker that was monitoring an E-6B operating off the coast of New Jersey.
The Very Low Frequency
(VLF) communications system can pierce the ocean's surface down to about 60
feet to connect with submarines lurking in the planet's vast undersea
environment. A downside to this capability is that data transfer rates are
appallingly slow, so only very simple communiques, like Emergency Action Messages, can be transmitted, and
huge antenna arrays are required to both send and receive those messages.
The E-6B's primary VLF
antenna is just over five miles long. It also has a shorter one that is
deployed via
a trapdoor arrangement in its tail. The VLF antennas are stabilized with a
drogue on its trailing end. The idea is to get the antennas as close to
vertical as possible for maximum transmission effectiveness. This is done by
putting the aircraft into a very steep and tight banking turn at slow speed and
above 20,000 feet, not far above the aircraft's stall speed. These turns are
repeated, oftentimes for hours at a time, as messages are sent.
USAF
E-6B Mercury.
A submarine trails its own long VLF antenna to
receive the transmission. If the submarine is too deep to receive the signal,
the VLF antenna can be floated to a shallower depth via a buoy while the
submarine remains underway at greater depth.
This maneuver is precisely
what was spotted today by one eagle-eyed aircraft tracker and open-source
intelligence enthusiast, @vcdgf555. An E-6B was operating
off the northeastern coast of the U.S., hundreds of miles out to sea, and
executing a VLF communications deployment maneuver. This track gives us a great
visual portrayal of what such a maneuver looks like:
Great
depiction of an E-6B Mercury executing a series of tight consecutive low-speed
turns with its 5 mile long Very Low Frequency antenna reeled out the back. The
idea is to get the antenna as vertical as possible for best transmission
results. Mercury TACAMOs are amazing planes https://twitter.com/vcdgf555/status/1205602551598469120 …
Submarines can receive
many more forms of communication when they are at periscope depth, but for the boomers, the nuclear ballistic
missile submarines that must stay hidden in order to assure
the strategic second-strike deterrent, exposing themselves
in such a manner isn't really an option in many cases. Even releasing satellite
communications buoys that are tethered to the submarine and float to the
surface can increase the submarine's chances of detection to unacceptable
levels.
VLF messages can be
transmitted far over the horizon from ground stations as well. The U.S. Navy
maintains a number of
these facilities just for that purpose, but in a nuclear
exchange, they would be some of the first targets struck. As such, the E-6B's
ability to use the same form of communication during a nuclear exchange is
absolutely essential. They could quite literally be the last node on earth
capable of distributing such orders.
It's worth noting that
the Air Force's E-4B Nightwatch National Emergency
Airborne Command Post aircraft also have VLF antennas that work in a similar
fashion if need be, although conveying launch commands to the Navy's ballistic
missile submarine fleet is not their primary mission as it is for the E-6Bs.
Yet the E-6Bs are also multi-role platforms and share other capabilities with
the E-4B. With so much connectivity at their fingertips and having a highly
trained team that can give everything from strategic nuclear attack advice to providing global
weather forecasting, they can also act as command posts for many types of
contingencies, from taking the National Command Authority aloft and executing a
nuclear war to providing assistance after natural disasters.
USAF
The E-6B burns a lot of
gas in its tight turns during VLF operations. Midair refueling is a key part of
its operations.
E-6Bs have participated in FEMA exercises in the
past and they can provide a lot of important capability without even leaving
the ground. This can be absolutely critical to officials responding to a crisis
in an entire region cutoff from normal communications infrastructure.
The Mercurys and their VLF
communications capabilities are just pieces of the bewildering infrastructure
puzzle that rose up and evolved after nuclear weapons became a reality. The
best overview of this incredible phenomenon is the book Raven
Rock. Check out
our interview with its author, Garrett Graff, here.
It's amazing to think that at any given time there
is a portion of the 16 E-6B strong fleet either already in the air or sitting
alert at places like Travis AFB in California and NAS Patuxent River in
Maryland, as well as other far less predictable locales around the globe, ready
to spring into action at a moments notice. Their primary job is an incredibly
dark one. If called upon, they would directly facilitate the end of the world.
But the fact that they are so capable of suddenly carrying out that mission
ensures that they won't ever actually have to.
With all this in mind, the E-6B is truly one of
the most important and fascinating aircraft types on earth and it does its job
with a bit of aerobatic flair.
Contact the author:
Tyler@thedrive.com
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