Editing TACAMO

{{Short description|US strategic communications system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2017}}
{{distinguish|TACAM (disambiguation){{!}}TACAM}}
{{Refimprove|date=December 2016}}
[[File:E-6B Mercury - RIAT 2018 (43308247084).jpg|thumb|right|A [[Boeing E-6B Mercury]] airborne, painted [[anti-flash white]]]]

'''TACAMO''' (Take Charge And Move Out) is a [[United States military]] system of survivable communications links designed to be used in [[nuclear warfare]] to maintain communications between the decision-makers (the [[National Command Authority (United States)|National Command Authority]]) and the [[Nuclear triad|triad]] of [[strategic nuclear weapon]] [[nuclear weapons delivery|delivery]] systems. Its primary mission is serving as a signals relay, where it receives orders from a command plane such as [[Operation Looking Glass]], and verifies and retransmits their [[Emergency Action Message]]s (EAMs) to US strategic forces.  As it is a dedicated communications post, it features the ability to communicate on virtually every radio frequency band from [[very low frequency]] (VLF) up through [[super high frequency]] (SHF) using a variety of modulations, [[encryption]]s and networks, minimizing the likelihood an emergency message will be jammed by an enemy.  This airborne communications capability largely replaced the land-based [[extremely low frequency]] (ELF) broadcast sites which became vulnerable to nuclear strike.

==Components==
The current TACAMO system comprises several components. The main part is the airborne portion, the U.S. Navy's [[Strategic Communications Wing One]] (STRATCOMWING 1), a U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) organization based at [[Tinker Air Force Base]], [[Oklahoma]]. STRATCOMWING 1 consists of three fleet air reconnaissance squadrons ([[Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (United States Navy)|VQ-3]], [[Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (United States Navy)|VQ-4]], and VQ-7) equipped with [[Boeing Integrated Defense Systems|Boeing IDS]] [[E-6B Mercury]] TACAMO aircraft. As well as the main operating base at Tinker, there are a west coast alert base at [[Travis AFB]], California, and an east coast alert base at [[NAS Patuxent River]], Maryland.

==History==
[[File:EC-130Q TACAMO VQ-4 in flight 1984.jpg|thumb|right|A U.S. Navy TACAMO EC-130Q of VQ-4, in 1984.]]
The acronym was coined in 1961{{citation needed|reason=Can anyone find a believable and reliable reference for the acronym and its origin? Did it originally stand for something else (perhaps something like "tactical air communications and movement orders"), which was later superseded by the cutesy version?|date=March 2016}} and the first aircraft modified for TACAMO testing was a Lockheed [[KC-130 Hercules]] which in 1962 was fitted with a VLF transmitter and [[trailing wire antenna]] to test communications with the fleet [[ballistic missile submarine]]s (see [[communication with submarines]]).

The Naval Air Development Center developed the required technique of "stalling" the trailing antenna to achieve the long vertical antenna needed.<ref name="Polaris">{{cite book |title= From Polaris to Trident: the development of US Fleet ballistic missile technology|last= Spinardi|first= Graham |year= 1994|publisher= Cambridge University Press|location= Cambridge [England]|isbn= 0-521-41357-5}}</ref> The VLF system is currently known as VERDIN ('''VER'''y low frequency '''D'''igital '''I'''nformation '''N'''etwork).<ref name="VERDIN">{{cite book |title= Navy Supplement to the DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms|year= 2012|publisher= Office of the Chief of Naval Operations|location= Washington, D.C. }}</ref> The program was expanded in 1966 using modified [[C-130]]s designated Lockheed [[EC-130]]G/Q carrying a VLF system built by [[Collins Radio Company]].

The first two [[Squadron (aviation)|squadrons]] were established in 1968: VQ-4 initially operated from [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River]], Maryland and VQ-3 was initially formed at [[NAS Barbers Point]], Hawaii before moving to [[Naval Air Station Agana]], Guam, but later returned to NAS Barbers Point.  The system known as TACAMO (from "take charge and move out") has been operationally deployed in 1969. TACAMO consisted of twelve Lockheed EC-130Q aircraft equipped with VLF transmitters using long trailing wire antennas.<ref name="Polaris"/> VLF system was repeatedly upgraded to improve signal strength.

By 1971, TACAMO IV incorporated a 200&nbsp;kW transmitter and dual antenna. Actual transmission power and capabilities remain classified. Airborne ELF was tested but considered infeasible. The aircraft were upgraded to the [[E-6 Mercury]] beginning in 1990, and the E-6A was upgraded to the dual-role E-6B from 1998.  With the introduction of the E-6, the Navy also stood up a Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), VQ-7, to provide initial training for new [[Naval Aviator]]s, [[Naval Flight Officer]]s and enlisted Naval Aircrewmen, and recurrent training for former TACAMO crewmembers returning to aircraft for second and third tours.   

The E-6 aircraft is based on the [[Boeing 707]]. The wings were redesigned to meet new wing-loading characteristics; the tail was redesigned after a catastrophic failure of the vertical stabilizer during flight tests. The cockpit was copied from the [[Boeing 737NG]] commercial airliner, and the landing gear was modified to handle the added weight. Larger fuel tanks were installed and the fuselage was extensively modified to accommodate the 31 antennas, including the trailing wire antenna and reel assembly.<ref name="Polaris"/> After the upgrade to the E-6B, the TACAMO aircraft—with the addition of an [[Airborne Launch Control System]] (ALCS)—took over the [[Boeing EC-135|EC-135]] [[Looking Glass (airplane)|Looking Glass]] mission formerly conducted by the USAF [[55th Wing]] at [[Offutt AFB]], Nebraska.

In early 1991 TACAMO planes, which have been in the air nonstop for nearly three decades, were transferred to "interim ground alert" and their flights continued on a "random basis" off the US east and west coasts.<ref>{{cite web |title=NONSTOP AIR LINK TO NUCLEAR SUBS CUT |website=[[The Washington Post]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311071505/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/05/26/nonstop-air-link-to-nuclear-subs-cut/e6860033-3d01-4ba8-9bc0-668e52a4b793/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10 |archive-date=2023-03-11 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/05/26/nonstop-air-link-to-nuclear-subs-cut/e6860033-3d01-4ba8-9bc0-668e52a4b793/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10}}</ref>

In December 2020 ([[Fiscal year|Fiscal Year]] 2021), the US Navy announced that it awarded a contract to [[Lockheed Martin]] for the purchase the [[C-130J|C-130J-30]] Hercules as testbed for the [[TACAMO]] mission <ref>{{Cite web |last=Jennings |first=Gareth |date=21 December 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 October 2023 |access-date=30 October 2023 |website=Janes.com |language=en}}</ref> The aircraft selection represents a return to the [[Lockheed C-130 Hercules|C-130]] platform by the Navy, which for years used the EC-130Q (an older variant despite the higher letter) for the TACAMO mission from 1963 until 1993.

In October 2024 the Navy announced that the new [[C-130J|C-130J-30]] based TACAMO mission aircraft will be designated [[Lockheed E-130J| E-130J]]. <ref>{{Cite news |date=Oct 21, 2024 |title=TACAMO community announces name for new mission aircraft: E-130J |url=https://www.navair.navy.mil/news/TACAMO-community-announces-name-new-mission-aircraft-E-130J/Mon-10212024-1046 |work=NAVAIR News}}</ref> It will replace the currently operational [[E-6 Mercury]] in the near future.

==See also==
*[[Boeing E-4]]
*[[Survivable Low Frequency Communications System]] ([[Survivable Low Frequency Communications System|SLFCS]])
*[[Ground Wave Emergency Network]] ([[Ground Wave Emergency Network|GWEN]])
*[[Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network]] ([[Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network|MEECN]])
*[[Emergency Rocket Communications System]] ([[Emergency Rocket Communications System|ERCS]])

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tacamo.navy.mil Strategic Communications Wing ONE website]
* [http://www.stratcom.mil/Media/Factsheets/Factsheet-View/Article/960928/e-6b-airborne-command-post-abncp/ USSTRATCOM ABNCP Fact Sheet]
* [http://www.vaq34.com/oldtacamo/ "Old TACAMO" Veterans website]
* [http://tacamo.org/ TACAMO Community Veterans website]
* [http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a26230/deadliest-plane-e-6-mercury/ 2017 ''Popular Mechanics'' article on TACAMO]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tacamo}}
[[Category:Military radio systems of the United States]]
[[Category:Military communications of the United States]]
[[Category:United States nuclear command and control]]