Plan To Turn Ex-RAF E-3 AWACS Into E-6B ‘Doomsday' Jet Trainer Abandoned By Navy

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2 days ago

The U.S. Navy has quietly awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to strip useful parts from an ex-Royal Air Force (RAF) E-3D Sentry airborne early warning and control aircraft before disposing of it. The service first acquired the plane in 2021 for conversion into a dedicated training platform for the crews of its E-6B Mercury jets, which are often referred to as 'doomsday planes' given their role as airborne command posts that relay launch orders for America's nuclear arsenal.
'Naval Air Systems Command (NAVIAR) Patuxent River, MD, issued a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Labor Hour (LH) Delivery Order to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation [NGSC] … under Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA) N0001920G0005, on an other than full and open basis for the for part harvesting and disposal of the TE-6B aircraft, Bureau Number (BuNo) 170508 (formerly an E-3D Aircraft),' according to a notice posted online on May 27. The contract, valued at just under $3 million, was formally awarded on May 14. As of March 2024, the Navy had already received $16.376 million in funding to acquire and convert the ex-RAF E-3D to the TE-6B standard.
'NGSC is the only vendor that owns, controls, and has access to the aircraft maintenance manuals and proprietary engineering data previously independently funded and developed by NGSC establishing the current configuration of the TE-6B,' an accompanying official justification for the sole-source deal adds. 'Accurate and current technical data is required to part harvest the preponderance of components and dispose of the aircraft.'
How far along the TE-6B had gotten in the conversion process is unknown. In 2022, NAVAIR announced that the work had begun, and that 'the outer mold line will be modified to resemble an E-6 and the aerial refueling probe and radar dome will be removed.'
It's not clear what other alterations may have been planned, but the E-6B is notably configured to refuel in mid-air using the boom method rather than a probe-and-drogue like the E-3D. The Mercury jets also have a completely revised cockpit architecture that leverages elements taken from Boeing's 737 and 777 airliners.
It is also unclear why the Navy is moving to dispose of the aircraft now and what might happen to it in the end. Prior Navy budget documents do not mention any plans to halt work on the former RAF E-3D as of March 2024, but do mention 'increased air certification requirements due to removal of the dome.' The Navy did not request any additional funding for the conversion work in its proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2025.
TWZ has reached out to NAVAIR and Northrop Grumman for more information.
The Navy currently has 16 E-6Bs in service. Those aircraft are upgraded E-6As, which first began entering service in 1989. Today, the Mercury fleet supports two critical nuclear deterrence mission sets: a Navy one called 'Take Charge And Move Out' (TACAMO) and an Air Force one referred to simply as the Airborne Command Post (ABNCP), but better known by the nickname Looking Glass. Today, TACAMO involves the relaying of orders to Navy Ohio class nuclear ballistic missile submarines, even if they are submerged, with the help of a five-mile-long antenna. The Looking Glass mission set is very roughly similar to TACAMO, but for Air Force nuclear-capable bombers and silo-based Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles. The E-6Bs, which are Navy-owned but fly with crews that also include Air Force personnel, also have the ability to initiate Minuteman III launches while in flight.
The RAF first began flying E-3Ds in 1991, eventually acquiring a fleet of seven of the aircraft, but had persistent difficulties in maintaining them. By December 2020, only three of the jets, locally designated as Sentry AEW1s, were still serviceable. In addition to the U.S. Navy, the Chilean Air Force also acquired three of the British E-3Ds after their retirement and began flying them operationally in 2022.
The E-6B, as well as all variants of the E-3 Sentry, are derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, which is now long out of production. The original E-6As were the last 707-based aircraft to roll out of Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington, in the 1980s. The E-3D variant of the Sentry, specifically, and the Mercury also both feature more modern fuel-efficient high-bypass CFM56 engines.
The U.S. Air Force currently flies E-3s powered by older, out-of-production TF33 engines. The service is moving to retire those aircraft and replace them with a mix of E-7 Wedgetail jets based on the Boeing 737 Next Generation (737NG) line and space-based assets. The E-7 is also set to succeed the E-3 in RAF service. The Air Force also operates a variety of C-135-series aircraft that are based on the 707's immediate predecessor, which are also steadily aging. This includes multiple intelligence-gathering RC-135 types for which there are dedicated TC-135 trainers.
When it comes to the TE-6B, 'training flights expose [E-6B] mission aircraft to significant wear-and-tear and impact their readiness and availability,' Navy Capt. Adam Scott, then head of the Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office (PMA-271) within NAVAIR, had said back in 2021. 'This is a great chance to work with the United Kingdom and bring a much-needed aircraft to the fleet.'
Scott left that post in March ahead of his retirement from the Navy.
'Since the E-6's inception over three decades ago, the Navy has looked for ways to train pilots and keep them up to date on the airframe. Those options have included leasing several different commercial aircraft as well as using the mission-capable aircraft,' the Navy had also said in 2021. 'For the past several years, the program has been looking for a dedicated trainer and found one when the Royal Air Force decided to retire their fleet of E-3Ds.'
'The [TE-6B] aircraft will help reduce an estimated 600 flight hours and 2,400 landings/cycles per year from the E-6 mission aircraft.'
In April, aviation services provider AAR announced that KALS LLC, a joint venture it had formed together KIRA Aviation Services, had received an E-6B pilot contract, but did not say what platform or platforms might be used for that purpose. Whether the Navy is now pursuing additional in-flight training options to fill any resulting gap left by the disposal of the TE-6B, provided in-house or by contractors, is unknown. The service does have simulators and other virtual training systems to support the E-6B fleet, but this in no way eliminates the need for live in-flight training.
Routine training is essential for maintaining crew proficiency for any aircraft, but those requirements are especially pronounced for the E-6B fleet given its critical mission sets. At the same time, ensuring the availability of those jets for actual operational taskings is similarly vital. For years now already, the Mercury fleet has become increasingly more difficult to operate and sustain just because of the age of the aircraft.
'The E-6B fleet met or exceeded its annual mission capable goals for 5 of the 9 fiscal years from fiscal years 2011 through 2019 and its mission capable rate decreased during this time period,' according to a report the Government Accountability Office, a Congressional watchdog, published in 2020. 'Program officials cited three reasons for not meeting the mission capable goals: parts obsolescence, aging aircraft, and increased maintenance needs.'
'Officials stated that increasing the lifespan of the aircraft has created more requirements on maintenance personnel, and total maintenance hours have increased by 9 percent since 2010,' that report, which came less than a year before the Navy's purchase of the former RAF E-3D, added.
The move now to dispose of the TE-6B does come as the Navy is working to acquire a C-130J-based aircraft to succeed the E-6B, at least when it comes to the TACAMO mission. The service does not appear to have put out a formal timeline for when the new E-130J might enter operational service, but has previously said it is looking to order three of the aircraft in Fiscal Year 2027 and six more in Fiscal Year 2028. Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation is currently the prime contractor for the E-130J program.
Questions remain about whether the E-130J will eventually take on the Looking Glass mission set. Other aircraft, like the Air Force's forthcoming Boeing 747-based E-4C Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) jets, might also take on that role in the future. When the last E-6B actually gets retired remains to be seen, as well.
In the meantime, Mercury crews will still need to meet their routine flight training requirements, now without the help of the TE-6B aircraft.
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