The U.S. Navy received a C-130J-30 Super Hercules planned to become its next TACAMO aircraft, though it must first receive mission equipment before it can support the Navy’s nuclear communications role.
Lockheed Martin announced the delivery on Oct. 16 and said the Navy accepted the aircraft the day before at the company’s site in Marietta, Georgia. The Navy plans to send it to Northrop Grumman to install the systems needed for the mission. Lockheed Martin did not give a date for that transfer or for the aircraft to enter service.
TACAMO, short for Take Charge and Move Out, is an airborne communications link between U.S. leaders and naval forces equipped with ballistic missiles, according to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR). The command says the system is designed to maintain communications when ground-based links are unavailable. The E-130J is planned to take the TACAMO assignment from the E-6B Mercury, which also supports the separate Looking Glass airborne command-post mission for land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The change would put TACAMO back on a Hercules aircraft. The Navy used the EC-130Q in that role from 1963 through 1993.
The Navy’s contract with Northrop Grumman, announced Dec. 18, 2024, has a total value of $3,459,276,000. It covers three Engineering Development Models and includes options for up to three System Demonstration Test Articles and as many as six aircraft in the first production lot. Collins Aerospace and Lockheed Martin are directed subcontractors.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) flagged development risks in a June 2025 assessment. It said the selected C-130J might not meet operational-availability requirements and that complex systems work could create manufacturing difficulties. GAO described potential problems but did not report that they had occurred.
A timeline GAO published in July 2026 places the E-130J critical design review in October through December 2027. Lockheed Martin gave no date for operational service.
