aviation - the past, present and future of flight

changed to Mercury, the Roman equivalent,
in late 1991.
VQ-3  ew its  rst E-6A mission on October
31, 1989 and its last EC-130Q retired in
August 1990, while VQ-4’s  rst delivery came
on January 25, 1991, the unit completing its
transition in June 1991. Its  nal EC-130Q
stood down on May 26, 1992.
Powered by four 24,000lb st (106.8kN)
General Electric F108-CF-100 (CFM-56-2A-2)
turbofan engines, the E-6A had a maximum
gross take-off weight of 342,000lb (155,129kg)

• and a range of 6,700nm (12,408km) while
  still having enough fuel to remain on station
  for six hours. With air-to-air refuelling and an
  augmented crew of 18, the Mercury could stay
  airborne for 72 hours.
  It normally operates with a crew of 12,
  comprising two or three pilots, a navigator
  and two  ight engineers in the cockpit.
  Additionally, an aircraft commander (AC),
  airborne communications officers (ACOs),
  airborne communications supervisor,

two airborne communications operators

(ACOM), two in- ight technicians and a

trailing wire antenna reel operator (RO) form

the mission crew. Systems include AN/ALR-

66 electronic support measures (ESM) and

AN/APS-133 weather radar.

The VLF equipment includes a 28,000ft

(8,534m) Long Trailing Wire Antenna (LTWA)

and a 5,000ft (1,524m) Short Trailing Wire

Antenna (STWA). Once on station the

Mercury  ies a 25-40° banked orbit and

deploys the antennas which become nearly

vertical behind the circling jet.

The bulk of the 16-strong E-6B  eet

is assigned to VQ-3 and VQ-4 at Tinker

AFB, Oklahoma, the squadrons sharing 15

aircraft. The remaining jet is with Air Test

and Evaluation Squadron VX-20 at NAS

Patuxent River.

Since May 29, 1992, VQ-3 and VQ-4 have

been assigned to Commander, Strategic

Communications Wing One (CSCW-1) at

Tinker. The wing reports to Commander,

US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) as

the Commander of Task Force 124 (TF 124).

With the EC-130Qs located at NAS

Agana, Guam, and NAS Patuxent River,

the decision was later taken to station

them at Tinker alongside most of the

USAF’s E-3 Sentries.

Both types are based on the Boeing

707 airframe and share around 75%

commonality. Major changes included the

installation of auxiliary fuel tanks and a

cargo door on the Mercury. As a location,

Tinker also made sense because it was

home to the E-3 depot and the overhaul

facility for the E-6’s F108 engine.

VQ-3 originally operated its E-6As from

NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii, but relocated

to Oklahoma on September 30, 1992. The

squadron then established a detachment

at Travis AFB, California, in February 1988.

Meanwhile, VQ-4 moved to Tinker in March

1993 and set up a detachment at Patuxent

River that May. The wing also stood up

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 65

Sixteen E-6B Mercury aircraft have been delivered to the US Navy,

all of which remain in service. AirTeamImages.com/Jesus Moreno

The  rst E-6A produced by Boeing which was rolled out of the manufacturer’s Renton facility on December 18, 1986. US DoD/US National Archives