Boeing set to upgrade Tacamo aircraft cockpit

Engineers at the Boeing Co. in Seattle are starting design of a cockpit upgrade for the U.S. Navy E-6 Tacamo aircraft that experts believe may lead to upgrades for other Boeing military 707-based aircraft such as the Airborne Warning and Command System ? better known as AWACS ? and the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System ? also known as Joint STARS. The Tacamo upgrade reportedly will replace more than 100 instrument dials with six electronic displays. A contract to do the upgrade work is expected early next year. The cockpit overhaul is to improve navigation and communications, reduce crew workload, and enhance situational awareness. The Tacamo ? short for Otake charge and move outO ? communications with U.S. submarine and land-based ballistic missile forces. J.K.