The E-6B Mercury is designed to act as a communications relay in a nuclear war.



Only a handful of E-6Bs were ever built.

A bird strike disabled the engine on one of the planes, crippling it and forcing a landing.

A E-6B Mercury airborne communications aircraft was forced to land after a bird was sucked into an engine, destroying it. The E-6B is designed to act as an important communications relay during a nuclear war, ensuring that the President of the United States can send orders to the nuclear triad, including launch orders.

The incident took place earlier this month at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Virginia. According to Navy Times, the aircraft was performing touch and go landings when one of its four engines ingested a bird, destroying it. The E-6B was able to make an emergency landing at the air station. None of the crew were harmed in the incident.

The incident was classified as a “Class A” incident , which the U.S. Navy defines as one resulting in $2 million or more in damages or a destroyed aircraft. It is also defined as an incident that involves a “fatality or permanent total disability.” In this case the accident is classified “Class A” due to the cost of the repair and the cost of a replacement engine.

The E-6B Mercury is designated an Airborne Launch Control System aircraft, supporting U.S. nuclear forces across the globe. Based on the Boeing 707 civilian airliner, the E-6B is designed to serve as a backup communications relay between the National Command Authority (the President of the United States or his successors) and the Air Force bombers, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and strategic nuclear missile submarines of the U.S. Navy.

E-6B Mercury with its distinctive pair of dorsal humps. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jacob Skovo

The E-6B’s nickname is TACAMO, for “Take Charge and Move Out”—precisely what the aircraft would do in the event of a nuclear war. In the event of a crisis, the Mercury takes off and unspools dual wire antennas connected to drag chutes. The aircraft flies in circles, the antennas broadcasting low-frequency command signals with a range of hundreds of miles. The aircraft can pick up a signal from the NCA and relay it to nuclear forces, ordering them to launch—or stand down.

The Mercury’s ability to pass on nuclear launch commands have earned it the description of the “deadliest plane in the skies,” despite its complete lack of armament. The aircraft typically fly with a mixed crew of 13-18 Navy and Air Force personnel.

In February, another E-6B was damaged when the airplane’s vertical stabilizer was damaged when it hit an aircraft hangar. That accident was also classified a Class A. In March, yet another E-6B made an emergency landing after an onboard fire. The U.S. Navy is beginning to lay the groundwork to replace the aircraft with a new jet starting in 2038.

Source: The New York Daily News



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