Northrop Grumman to upgrade E-6B Mercury aircraft for US Navy
Defense giant Northrop Grumman Corp. was awarded an Integrated Modification and Maintenance Contract from the U.S. Navy for E-6B Mercury aircraft.
An E-6B plane is a large, high-tech aircraft that can communicate with important assets such as nuclear submarines and is built with a system that can launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.
NG says the work will be performed at Northrop Grumman’s Aircraft Maintenance and Fabrication Center in Lake Charles.
“We are laser focused on providing the most relevant capabilities while improving mission readiness,” said Mary Petryszyn, corporate vice president and president of Defense Systems at Northrop Grumman. “As leaders in aircraft sustainment and modernization, the US Navy’s E-6B Mercury fleet is another example of our strong partnership with the Navy in achieving those goals.”
Over the next five years, Northrop Grumman will perform modifications to the Navy’s E-6B aircraft improving command, control and communications functions that connect the national command authority with the United States’ Nuclear Triad. The company will establish a consolidated production line for core modifications required under the $111 million contract. Northrop Grumman may also take on additional, smaller modifications and select depot maintenance tasks as required.
As part of the critical Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) strategic communications mission, the E-6B operates across a wide frequency spectrum to transmit and receive secure and non-secure voice and data information. The aircraft provides survivable, endurable, reliable airborne command, control, and communications in support of the President, Secretary of Defense, and the United States Strategic Command.