Tinker Maintainers Finish First E-6B Refurbishment

Member of the 566th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Tinker AFB, Okla., on June 15 completed work on the first of 16 Navy E-6 command and control aircraft they are refurbishing under a service life extension program. The unit, a component of Tinker’s Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, began this work about eight months ago. The SLEP involves strengthening the tail and under surfaces of the wing to extend the life of the E-6 fleet to 2038. “It’s a pretty significant amount of work,” said the 566th’s Bill Cain. Like the Air Force E-3 AWACS aircraft that the squadron maintains, the E-6s are based on Boeing’s 707 airframe. The E-6 fleet operates from Tinker. These aircraft support US Strategic Command by serving as airborne command posts. Work on the final E-6 is scheduled to be completed in 2013. (Tinker report by Brandice J. Armstrong)