A U.S. Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft, assigned to Strategic

A U.S. Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft, assigned to Strategic Communications Wing 1 at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, lands at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, July 15, 2019. In August 1989, the E-6A replaced the EC-130Q in the performance of the Navy's Take Charge and Move Out mission which links the National Command Authority with naval ballistic missile forces during times of crisis. The first E-6B aircraft was accepted in December 1997, and the E-6B assumed its dual operational mission in October 1998. The E-6 fleet was completely modified to the E-6B configuration in 2003. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jacob Skovo)