Lockheed Martin has delivered a newly manufactured C-130J-30 Super Hercules aircraft to the US Navy for conversion into the E-130J Phoenix II, a future platform for nuclear command, control and communications. The aircraft was handed over at the company’s Marietta, Georgia, facility. Northrop Grumman will lead the integration of mission systems, while Collins Aerospace will provide very-low-frequency communications equipment. These systems are intended to transmit emergency messages to ballistic-missile submarines operating underwater. The E-130J will replace the Navy’s E-6B Mercury in the Take Charge and Move Out mission, which maintains communications between national leadership and nuclear-armed submarines when conventional communication networks are unavailable. Based on the Boeing 707, the E-6B entered service in 1997, with final deliveries completed in 2006. The C-130J-30 provides a domestically produced, four-engine platform with established performance and endurance. Planned E-130J improvements include modernised avionics, increased electrical power, greater range, improved fuel efficiency and enhanced payload capacity.
