TACAMO (Take Charge And Move Out) is a

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

system of survivable communications links designed to be used in

nuclear warfare Nuclear warfare, also known as atomic warfare, is a theoretical military conflict or prepared political strategy that deploys nuclear weaponry. Nuclear weapons are weapons of mass destruction; in contrast to conventional warfare, nuclear ...

to maintain communications between the decision-makers (the National Command Authority) and the triad of

strategic nuclear weapon A strategic nuclear weapon (SNW) refers to a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on targets often in settled territory far from the battlefield as part of a strategic plan, such as military bases, military command centers, arms industries, ...

delivery systems. Its primary mission is serving as a signals relay, where it receives orders from a command plane such as

Operation Looking Glass Looking Glass (or Operation Looking Glass) is the (historic) code name for an airborne command and control center operated by the United States. In more recent years it has been more officially referred to as the ABNCP (Airborne National Command ...

, and verifies and retransmits their Emergency Action Messages (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 Very low frequency or VLF is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3–30 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths from 100 to 10 km, respectively. The band is also known as the myriameter band or myriameter wave a ...

(VLF) up through

super high frequency Super high frequency (SHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range between 3 and 30 gigahertz (GHz). This band of frequencies is also known as the centimetre band or centimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ...

(SHF) using a variety of modulations,

encryption In cryptography, encryption is the process of encoding information. This process converts the original representation of the information, known as plaintext, into an alternative form known as ciphertext. Ideally, only authorized parties can decip ...

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 Extremely low frequency (ELF) is the ITU designation for electromagnetic radiation ( radio waves) with frequencies from 3 to 30 Hz, and corresponding wavelengths of 100,000 to 10,000 kilometers, respectively. In atmospheric sc ...

(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 Strategic Communications Wing 1 (STRATCOMWING ONE) is a nuclear command and control wing of the United States Navy. Its TACAMO ("Take Charge and Move Out") mission provides airborne communications links to nuclear missile units of United States S ...

(STRATCOMWING 1), a U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) organization based at

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, origina ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

. STRATCOMWING 1 consists of three fleet air reconnaissance squadrons (

VQ-3 Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 3 (VQ-3), nicknamed the ''Ironmen'', is a naval aviation squadron of the United States Navy based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma (United States). The squadron flies the Boeing E-6B Mercury airborne command p ...

VQ-4 Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 4 (VQ-4), nicknamed the Shadows, is a naval aviation squadron of the United States Navy based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The squadron flies the Boeing E-6B Mercury airborne command post and communication ...

, and VQ-7) equipped with

Boeing IDS Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) is a division (business unit) of The Boeing Company based in Arlington, Virginia. It is responsible for defense and aerospace products and services. It was formerly known as Boeing Integrated Defense System ...

E-6B Mercury The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, repla ...

TACAMO aircraft. As well as the main operating base at Tinker, there are a west coast alert base at

Travis AFB Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, California ...

, California, and an east coast alert base at

NAS Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...

, Maryland.

History

The acronym was coined in 1961 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 A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine capable of deploying submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) with nuclear warheads. The United States Navy's hull classification symbols for ballistic missile submarines are SSB and SSBN – t ...

s (see

communication with submarines Communication with submarines is a field within military communications that presents technical challenges and requires specialized technology. Because radio waves do not travel well through good electrical conductors like salt water, submerged ...

). The Naval Air Development Center developed the required technique of "stalling" the trailing antenna to achieve the long vertical antenna needed. The VLF system is currently known as VERDIN (VERy low frequency Digital Information Network). The program was expanded in 1966 using modified

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally desig ...

s designated Lockheed

EC-130 The Lockheed Martin EC-130 series comprises several slightly different versions of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules that have been and continue to be operated by the U.S. Air Force and, until the 1990s, the U.S. Navy. The EC-130E Airborne Battlefi ...

G/Q carrying a VLF system built by

Collins Radio Company Rockwell Collins was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers. It was formed when the Collins Radio Comp ...

. The first two squadrons were established in 1968: VQ-4 initially operated from

Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Sys ...

, Maryland and VQ-3 was initially formed at

NAS Barbers Point Naval Air Station Barbers Point , on O'ahu, also called John Rodgers Field (the original name of Honolulu International Airport), is a former United States Navy airfield closed in 1999, and renamed Kalaeloa Airport. Parts of the former air station ...

, Hawaii before moving to

Naval Air Station Agana Naval Air Station Agana is a former United States Naval air station located on the island of Guam. It was opened by the Japanese Navy in 1943 and closed by the United States government in 1995. During and after its closure, it was operated alongs ...

, 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. VLF system was repeatedly upgraded to improve signal strength. By 1971, TACAMO IV incorporated a 200 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 The Boeing E-6 Mercury (formerly Hermes) is an airborne command post and communications relay based on the Boeing 707. The original E-6A manufactured by Boeing's defense division entered service with the United States Navy in July 1989, repla ...

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 Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

Naval Flight Officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

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 Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...

. 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 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a narrow-body aircraft powered by two jet engines and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third generation derivative of the Boeing ...

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. After the upgrade to the E-6B, the TACAMO aircraft—with the addition of an Airborne Launch Control System (ALCS)—took over the EC-135 Looking Glass mission formerly conducted by the USAF 55th Wing at

Offutt AFB Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...

, Nebraska.

References

External links

Strategic Communications Wing ONE website

USSTRATCOM ABNCP Fact Sheet

"Old TACAMO" Veterans website

TACAMO Community Veterans website

2017 ''Popular Mechanics'' article on TACAMO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tacamo Military radio systems of the United States Military communications of the United States United States nuclear command and control

Components

History

See also

References

External links