Editing Boeing E-6 Mercury (section)

==Operational history==
Codenamed [[Looking Glass (airplane)|''Looking Glass'']], the E-6 is [[United States Strategic Command]]'s (USSTRATCOM) Airborne Command Post (ABNCP). It is designed to take over in case the Global Operations Center at [[Offutt Air Force Base]], [[Nebraska]], is destroyed or incapable of communicating with nuclear forces. The term "Looking Glass” reflects the way the ABNCP "mirrors" the GOC’s abilities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stratcom.mil/Media/Factsheets/Factsheet-View/Article/960928/e-6b-airborne-command-post-abncp/ |title=USSTRATCOM ABNCP Fact Sheet |access-date=7 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170420143950/http://www.stratcom.mil/Media/Factsheets/Factsheet-View/Article/960928/e-6b-airborne-command-post-abncp/ |archive-date=20 April 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The E-6A, initially named [[Hermes]], entered service with squadron [[Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (United States Navy)|VQ-3]] in August 1989. A second squadron, [[Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (United States Navy)|VQ-4]], received its first E-6As in January 1991, allowing the EC-130Q to be phased out in June 1991. The&nbsp;E-6A was renamed [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] in autumn 1991 at the Navy’s request.<ref name="AI Jan95p21">Francillon 1995, p. 21.</ref> Sixteen E-6A planes were delivered from 1988 to 1992.<ref>Breffort, 2008. p. 93</ref>

The E-6 fleet is based at [[Tinker Air Force Base]], [[Oklahoma]], and operated by [[Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (United States Navy)|Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3)]], [[Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (United States Navy)|VQ-4]], and VQ-7.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.airpac.navy.mil/Organization/Fleet-Air-Reconnaissance-Squadron-VQ-7/About-Us/|title = About Us}}</ref>

In 2021, one of the [[Boeing E-3 Sentry|E-3D Sentry]] aircraft that had been in service with the [[Royal Air Force]] was purchased for conversion into a dedicated E-6 trainer. This was done as a means to extend the life of the operational fleet by reducing the need for E-6s to be used for training missions.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/08/pma-271-purchased-a-retired-raf-e-3d-to-be-used-as-an-e-6b-mercury-pilot-training-aircraft/ |title=PMA-271 Purchased A Retired RAF E-3D To Be Used As An E-6B Mercury Pilot Training Aircraft |last= Maranache|first=Martin |date=4 August 2021 |website=Naval News |publisher= |access-date=9 August 2021 |quote=}}</ref>

=== Replacement ===
In 2015, both the Air Force and Navy realized that they needed new aircraft to serve the missions of both the E-4 and the E-6. At one point, they considered building one plane to replace both aircraft, but by 2020, the Navy decided to go its own way and develop an aircraft specifically for the TACAMO mission, under the [[Lockheed E-XX|E-XX TACAMO]] program. The Air Force independently pursued an E-4 replacement under the [[Survivable Airborne Operations Center]] program.

The Navy selected a variant of the [[Lockheed EC-130|Lockheed EC-130J]], specifically one derived from the lengthened [[Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules|C-130J-30]]. Initial orders were placed in late 2020 with development beginning in earnest in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Gareth |date=21 Dec 2020 |title=US Navy to field C-130J-30 in nuclear communications role |url=https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-navy-to-field-c-130j-30-in-nuclear-communications-role |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028053806/https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-navy-to-field-c-130j-30-in-nuclear-communications-role |archive-date=28 Oct 2023 |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Janes.com |language=en}}</ref> Delivery of the first aircraft is expected in FY26.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newdick |first=Thomas |date=2022-04-05 |title=This Is Our First Look At The Navy's Next 'Doomsday Plane,' The EC-130J TACAMO |url=https://www.twz.com/45086/this-is-our-first-look-at-the-navys-next-doomsday-plane |access-date=2024-10-01 |website=The War Zone |language=en-US}}</ref> The Navy expects the E-6 to fulfill the TACAMO role into the 2030s as the E-XX is transitioned into service. 

In October 2024, the replacement aircraft was officially named [[Lockheed Martin E-130J|E-130J]].<ref>{{cite web|title=TACAMO community announces name for new mission aircraft: E-130J|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/483549/tacamo-community-announces-name-new-mission-aircraft-e-130j|website=www.dvidshub.net|date=2024-10-21|publisher=Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office|access-date=2024-10-21}}</ref>