The US Navy has formally named its next-generation Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) aircraft the E-130J Phoenix II, replacing the “E-XX” placeholder designation used since 2024.
According to Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), the name draws on the phoenix as a symbol of “immortality, resurrection, and renewal”, reflecting both the resilience of the TACAMO mission and the return of the C-130 platform to this role. Between 1963 and 1993, the Navy’s EC-130Q variant fulfilled TACAMO duties before being replaced by the E-6B Mercury.
The Phoenix II will take over the TACAMO mission from the E-6B fleet, which has been in service for more than 30 years. TACAMO provides the secure communications link between the US president, secretary of defense and US Strategic Command, and the Navy’s ballistic missile submarine force.
“Phoenix II is the ideal popular name as we take the E-130J TACAMO mission into its next phase,” said Capt. Roger Davis, PMA-271 programme manager. “A phoenix is known for its resilience, exceptionally long lifespan, and its ability to transform and continue its purpose.”
Capt. Britt Windeler, commander of Strategic Communications Wing 1 (SCW-1), said the decision also reflects the type’s operational lineage. “I feel like Phoenix II is especially apt, as we are returning to our roots of executing the TACAMO mission on a C-130 variant.”
SCW-1 operates from Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, with squadrons VQ-3 “Ironmen”, VQ-4 “Shadows”, and VQ-7 “Roughnecks”. The wing’s mission is to receive, verify and retransmit Emergency Action Messages to US strategic forces.
The E-130J is expected to offer improved survivability and longevity over the E-6B, while continuing to provide airborne nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) in a contested environment.
The Americans really have an aircraft for everything both niche and vital. The money they put in is just ridiculous really.
Well, another way of looking at it is that they are prepared to fully fund their military. Don’t get me wrong, the US have just as many failed programmes as we do, perhaps even more, resulting in far more money being wasted. That’s what you get when your budget is so large(some 15-20 x larger then our defence budget). You can argue as to how they achieve this/what they don’t fund across their government until the cows come home, but, they prioritise defence way more then we do. It really is that simple, its just that successive UK governments haven’t had the balls to prioritise defence to the same extent.