The USN E-6 Mercury, code name “Looking Glass”, is the Navy’s Airborne Command Post designed to be the USSTRACTCOM link if NORAD’s famous Cheyenne Mountain Operation’s Center were to be destroyed. It also is sometimes referred to as TACOMO (Take Charge and Move Out) as it was also designed to coordinate the fleet ballistic missile submarines. During the Cold War era a “Looking Glass” aircraft was airborne 24/7, 365 days a year with one taking off and becoming airborne before the other landed. It has been portrayed in many popular movies, most recently in the hit movie “Air Force One”. The E-6 is based at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma which will also be sending an E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft with its 38’ diameter rotating radome mounted 14 feet above the fuselage.
