Editing Boeing E-6 Mercury (section)

==Design and development==
[[File:Navy-e6-070403-07-16.jpg|thumb|Navy E-6B Mercury at the [[Mojave Air and Space Port]]]]

Like the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|E-3 Sentry]] [[Airborne early warning and control|Airborne Warning and Control System]] aircraft, the E-6 is adapted from Boeing's [[Boeing 707|707-320]] airliner. Rolled out at Boeing's [[Boeing Renton Factory|Renton Factory]] in December 1986,<ref name=pronjt>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EotfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4860%2C902676 |work=Lewiston Morning Tribune |location=(Idaho) |agency=Associated Press |title=Boeing shows prototype of new jet |date=19 December 1986 |page=5B}}</ref> the first E-6 made its [[maiden flight]] in February 1987, when it was flown to nearby [[Boeing Field]] in south [[Seattle]] for fitting of mission avionics. It was delivered to the Navy for testing in July 1988.

The E-6B is an upgrade of the E-6A. It includes a battle staff area and updated mission equipment. The flight deck systems were later replaced with a better, cheaper off-the-shelf [[Boeing 737 Next Generation|737 Next Generation]] cockpit. The first E-6B was accepted in December 1997. All 16 E-6A aircraft were modified to the E-6B standard, with the final delivery taking place in December 2006.<ref>Walsh, Madonna and Brad Mudd. [http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q4/061201b_nr.html "Boeing Delivers Final Upgraded E6-B to U.S. Navy."] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205110326/http://www.boeing.com/news/releases/2006/q4/061201b_nr.html |date=5 December 2006 }} ''Boeing'', 1 December 2006. Retrieved: 18 June 2011.</ref>

Unlike most Navy aircraft that use the probe-and-drogue in-flight refueling method, the E-6 has a flying boom receptacle on the upper-forward fuselage so it can be refueled by the [[U.S. Air Force]]’s larger tanker fleet of [[KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135 Stratotankers]], [[KC-10 Extender|KC-10 Extenders]], and [[KC-46 Pegasus|KC-46 Pegasuses]].<ref name="GARB">{{cite web |title=Refueling a Shadow |url=https://www.grissom.afrc.af.mil/Home/Photos/igphoto/ |website=Grissom Air Reserve Base |access-date=1 September 2020}}</ref>