Northrop Grumman has selected a ThinKom antenna to provide satcom for the U.S. Navy’s E-130J Phoenix II aircraft, which will assume the Navy’s TACAMO mission.
Northrop Grumman is developing the E-130J Phoenix II aircraft to take over the Navy’s Take Charge and Move Out (TACAMO) mission from the E-6B Mercury fleet. The TACAMO mission provides connectivity between the National Command Authority and U.S. nuclear forces. Northrop Grumman was selected as prime contractor for the E-130J Phoenix II in late 2024.
ThinKom announced Tuesday it will provide multi-orbit, ThinAir antennas to be installed on the aircraft. The antennas will provide high-bandwidth beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) satcom, multi-orbit connectivity, anti-jam, and survivability features. This antenna design is used on both government and commercial aircraft from small business jets to large cargo aircraft. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“The TACAMO mission depends on communications systems that are resilient, available and ready in the most demanding operating environments,” said ThinKom CTO Bill Milroy. “The selection of our ThinAir antenna reflects the growing importance of multi-orbit, high-throughput satcom capabilities for strategic airborne platforms, and we are proud to support Northrop Grumman and the U.S. Navy on this program.”
