Northrop Grumman Corp. was selected as the prime contractor to deliver nuclear command, control, and communications (NC3) aircraft for the U.S. Navy’s Take Charge And Move Out (TACAMO) mission. The company heads an industry team that includes Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Raytheon (RTX), and Crescent Systems Inc., which will design, develop, test, and maintain the E-130J aircraft. The E-130J (see image above) is being developed to relieve the U.S. Navy’s current E-6B Mercury fleet of the TACAMO mission.
Well-invested in designing and developing such platforms, Northrop Grumman has been a prime contractor for the U.S. Navy on such systems as the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye and MQ-4C Triton, and it offers extensive support for the E-6B Mercury TACAMO fleet. The E-130J requires advanced design, manufacturing, and weapons systems integration for extensive contributions to the TACAMO mission.
Regarding the selection of Northrop Grumman as the prime contractor by the U.S. Navy, Jane Bishop, vice-president and general manager for Northrop Grumman’s global surveillance division, noted, “Our performance on Navy programs like the E-2D and E-6B prove we deliver on what we promise, and we will bring this expertise in helping the Navy deliver the E-130J on time and optimized for this strategically important mission.”