The U.S. Navy received its first C-130J-30 for the E-130J Phoenix II program on October 15, 2026, in Marietta, Georgia. Lockheed Martin announced the delivery on October 16. The aircraft will go to Northrop Grumman for conversion and mission-system integration. Lockheed Martin’s delivery announcement.
What the aircraft is being built to do
E-130J is intended to take over the E-6B Mercury’s TACAMO mission. Short for Take Charge and Move Out, TACAMO maintains an airborne communications link between U.S. national leadership and naval ballistic-missile forces. NAVAIR announced the Phoenix II name in August 2025. Its program announcement provides the mission background; October’s news concerns the delivery of a base aircraft.
Integration is the next step
NAVAIR’s December 2024 contract announcement assigned Northrop Grumman the task of installing TACAMO mission systems in government-furnished C-130J-30s. The contract covers three engineering-development aircraft, with options for additional test and production aircraft. Those options are not a count of aircraft already delivered.
The latest handover supplies an airframe for that work. It does not establish that the completed communications aircraft has passed its tests or entered operational service. Readers following the program should distinguish base-aircraft delivery, mission-system integration and operational fielding when comparing later announcements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the E-130J Phoenix II entered service?
This announcement confirms delivery of a C-130J-30 base aircraft for conversion. It does not announce E-130J operational service.
What is the E-130J intended to replace?
It is intended to take over the E-6B Mercury’s TACAMO communications mission. That statement concerns a specific mission, rather than every E-6B capability.
Who is responsible for the conversion?
Northrop Grumman is the mission-systems prime contractor. Lockheed Martin supplies the C-130J-30 airframe; Collins Aerospace and Lockheed Martin also support integration and airworthiness.
Related reading
For another naval-aircraft development milestone, read our report on the E-2D Block II design review.
Source dates: delivery announcement, October 16, 2026; Phoenix II naming announcement, August 7, 2025; integration-contract announcement, December 18, 2024. The linked primary sources were checked on October 19, 2026.