Prowler Aircraft - In 1960, as part of the development of the new A2F (later A-6) Intruder all-weather attack aircraft, Grumman engineers began evaluating an ECM version of the airplane. The result was the EA-6A Intruder, which entered service in Marine Corps squadrons in December 1965, coinciding with the intensification of the air war over North Vietnam during Operation Rolling Thunder.
Concurrently, Grumman developed a Tactical Jamming System and defined the requirements for the airplane to serve as a platform for it. The result was the EA-6B Prowler, which built upon the success of the EA-6A, but differed in some respects including size to incorporate a four-man crew consisting of one pilot and three electronic counter-measures officers (ECMO).
Prowler Aircraft
Over the course of its service life, the Prowler underwent modifications to accommodate improved equipment that enhanced its warfighting capabilities. This included provisions for launching High-speed Anti-radiation Missiles (HARM). The Northrop Grumman (formerly Grumman) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, mid-wing electronic warfare aircraft derived from the basic A-6 Intruder airframe.
Usn Squadrons
The EA-6B has been in service with the U.S. Armed Forces from 1971 through the present, during which it has carried out numerous missions for jamming enemy radar systems, and in gathering radio intelligence on those and other enemy air defense systems.
In addition, the EA-6B is capable of carrying and firing anti-radiation missiles (ARM), such as the HARM missile. The aircrew of the EA-6B consists of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers, though it is not uncommon for only 2 ECMOs to be used on missions.
Design particulars include the refueling probe being asymmetrical, appearing bent to the right. It contains an antenna near its root. The canopy has a shading of gold to protect the crew against the radio emissions that the electronic warfare equipment produces.
The EA-6A "Electric Intruder" was developed for the U.S. Marine Corps during the 1960s to replace its EF-10B Skyknights. The EA-6A was a direct conversion of the standard A-6 Intruder airframe, with two seats, equipped with electronic warfare (EW) equipment.
Improved Capability Icap
The EA-6A was used by three Marine Corps squadrons during the War in Vietnam. A total of 27 EA-6As were produced, with 15 of these being newly manufactured ones.[2] Most of these EA-6As were retired from service in the 1970s with the last few being retired in the 1980s.[3]
The EA-6A was essentially an interim warplane until the more-advanced EA-6B could be designed and built. A typical Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron consists of four EA-6B Prowlers. Navy Electronic Attack squadrons carry the letters VAQ (V-fixed wing, A-attack, Q-electronic).
Most VAQ squadrons are carrier-based, however a number are "expeditionary", deploying to overseas land bases.[7] After the program was canceled, the three experimental Prowlers, BuNo 156482, 158542 and 158547, were mothballed until 1999. During the next several years, the three aircraft were dismantled and reassembled creating a single aircraft, b/n 158542, which the Navy dubbed "Franken Prowler".
It was returned to active service 23 March 2005.[5] The AIP prototype (bureau number 158547) represented the final ADVCAP configuration, incorporating all of the FSD and VEP modifications plus a completely new avionics suite which added multi-function displays to all crew positions, a head-up display for the pilot, and dual Global Positioning/Inertial navigation systems.
Operations In Afghanistan And Iraq
The initial joint test phase between the contractor and the US Navy test pilots completed successfully with few deficiencies. The EA-6B entered service with Fleet Replacement Squadron VAQ-129 in September 1970, and Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 (VAQ-132) became the first operational squadron, in July 1971. This squadron began its first combat deployment to Vietnam on USS America (CVA-66) eleven months later, soon followed by VAQ-131 on USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) and VAQ-134 on the USS Constellation (CVA-64).[8]
Since the retirement of the EF-111 Raven in 1995, the EA-6B is the only dedicated aerial radar jammer aircraft of the U.S. Air Force. Armed Forces. The EA-6B has been flown in almost all American combat operations since 1972, and is frequently flown in support of the U.S.
Air Force missions. Manufacturer: Grumman Aerospace Corporation Dimensions: Length: 59 ft., 10 in.; Height: 16 ft., 3 in.; Wingspan: 53 ft. Weights: Empty: 32,162 lb.; Gross: 65,000 lb. Power Plant: Two 11,200 lb. static thrust Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408 turbojets
Performance: Maximum Speed: 610 M.P.H. at sea level; Service ceiling: 38,000 ft.; Range: 2,400 miles Armament: Provision for AGM-88 HARM Crew: One pilot and three electronic counter-measures officers From the 1998 retirement of the United States Air Force EF-111 Raven electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-6B was the only dedicated electronic warfare plane available for missions by the U.S. Air Force.
Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Air Force until the fielding of the Navy's EA-18G Growler in 2009. The EA-6B Prowler is powered by two turbojet engines, and it is capable of high subsonic speeds.
Due to its extensive electronic warfare operations, and the aircraft's age (produced until 1991), the EA-6B is a high-maintenance aircraft, and it also has undergone more frequent equipment upgrades than any other aircraft in the Navy or Marine Corps.[ citation needed] Although designed as an electronic warfare and command-and-control aircraft for air strike missions, the EA-6B is also capable of attacking some surface targets on its own, in particular enemy radar sites and surface-to-air missile launchers .
In addition, the EA-6B is capable of gathering electronic signals intelligence. The EA-18G Growler is the U.S. Navy replacement for the EA-6B Prowler. In June 2014, Boeing was awarded a contract for 12 Growlers to be acquired by the Royal Australian Air Force under a Foreign Military Sales agreement with the U.S. Air Force.
Navy. Australia is the first country to be offered this level of AEA technology by the United States, which will give the RAAF unmatched electronic awareness and attack capabilities. Australia is the first country ever to be offered this level of Airborne Electronic Attack technology by the United States.
During the Cold War anti-aircraft defenses became increasingly sophisticated, their radars tracking attacking aircraft and guiding both antiaircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. To counter this emerging threat, the Navy and Marine Corps adapted aircraft for the electronic countermeasures (ECM) mission, notably the AD Skyraider and F3D Skyknight, a “Q” attached to their designations noting the ECM role (i.e AD-5Q).
Designed for carrier-based and advanced base operations, the EA-6B is a fully integrated electronic warfare system combining long-range, all-weather capabilities with advanced electronic countermeasures.[7] A forward equipment bay and pod-shaped fairing on the vertical fin house the additional avionics equipment.
It is now the primary electronic warfare aircraft for the U.S Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Air force. The primary mission of the EA-6B is to support ground-attack strikes by disrupting enemy electromagnetic activity. As a secondary mission it can also gather tactical electronic intelligence within a combat zone, and another secondary mission is attacking enemy radar sites with anti-radiation missiles.
About 125 Prowlers remain today, divided between twelve Navy, four Marine, and four joint Navy-Air Force "Expeditionary" squadrons. A Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) staff study recommended that the EF-111 Raven be retired to reduce the types of aircraft dedicated to the same mission, which led to an Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) program memorandum to establish 4" expeditionary" Prowler squadrons composed of Navy and USAF personnel to meet the needs of the Air Force.[citation needed]
The added modifications increased the aircraft gross weight approximately 2,000 pound (900 kg) and shifted the center of gravity 3% MAC aft of the baseline EA-6B. In previous models, when operating at sustained high angles of attack, fuel migration would cause additional shifts in CG with the result that the aircraft had slightly negative longitudinal static stability.
Results of flight tests of the new configuration showed greatly improved flying qualities and the backward shift of the CG had minimal impact. The EA-18G Growler is the most advanced airborne electronic attack (AEA) platform and is the only one in production today.
A variant of the combat-proven F/A-18F Super Hornet, the Growler provides tactical jamming and electronic protection to the U.S. Army. military forces and allies around the world. Industry and the U.S. Navy continues to invest in advanced Growler capabilities to ensure it continues to protect all strike aircraft during high-threat missions for decades to come.
The museum’s EA-6B (Bureau Number 156481) was the first aircraft constructed from the beginning as a Prowler and not modified from an A-6A. Accepted by the Navy on New Year’s Eve in 1969, it flew as a weapons test platform before assignment to VAQ-129, the EA-6B fleet replacement squadron.
It served at sea with VAQ-130, VAQ-140 VAQ-137, their collective service including an around-the-world cruise, deployments to the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Gulf, and operations in Somalia and Bosnia. The airplane’s final assignment was as a test platform with VX-23.
Bureau Number 156481 arrived at the museum on June 30, 2010. During its four decades of service, it logged over 6,000 flight hours and made 924 arrested landings. The EA-6B Prowler has been continually upgraded over the years.
The first of which was named "expanded capability" (EXCAP) beginning in 1973. Then came "improved capability" (ICAP) in 1976 and ICAP II in 1980. The ICAP II upgrade provided the EA-6B with the capability of firing Shrike missiles and AGM-88 HARM missiles.[3]
Though once considered being replaced by Common Support Aircraft, the original plan failed to materialize. The EA-6B remains in active service today. In 2009, the Navy EA-6B Prowler community began transitioning to the EA-18G Growler, a new electronic warfare derivative of the F/A-18F Super Hornet.
All but one of the active duty Navy EA-6B squadrons are based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, located in the northwest corner of the state of Washington. VAQ-136 is stationed at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan, as part of Carrier Air Wing 5, the forward deployed naval forces (FDNF) air wing that embarks aboard the Japan-based USS George Washington (CVN-73).
VAQ-209, the Navy Reserve's sole remaining EA-6B squadron, is stationed at Naval Air Facility Washington, Maryland. All Marine Corps EA-6B squadrons are located at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina. The Prowler has a crew of four, a pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers (known as ECMOs).
Powered by two non-afterburning Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408A turbojet engines, it is capable of speeds of up to 590 miles per hour (950 km/h) with a range of 1,140 miles (1,840 km). Northrop Grumman received contracts from the U.S.
Navy to deliver new electronic countermeasures gear to Prowler squadrons; the heart of each ICAP III set consists of the ALQ-218 receiver and new software that provides more precise selective-reactive radar jamming and deception and threat location.
The ICAP III sets also are equipped with the Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS), which includes the Link 16 data link system. Northrop has delivered two lots and will be delivering two more beginning in 2010.[6]
The majority of EA-6B Prowlers in service today are the ICAP II version, carrying the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System. The substantially redesigned and more advanced EA-6B was developed beginning in 1966 as a replacement for EKA-3B Skywarriors for the U.S. Army.
Navy. The forward fuselage was lengthened to create a rear area for a larger four-seat cockpit, and an antenna fairing was added to the tip of its vertical stabilizer.[2] The Prowler first flew on 25 May 1968, and it entered service on aircraft carriers in July 1971.[4]
Three prototype EA-6Bs were converted from A-6As, and five EA-6Bs were developmental airplanes. A total of 170 EA-6B production aircraft were manufactured from 1966 through 1991.[3] The Advanced Capability EA-6B Prowler (ADVCAP) was a development program initiated to improve the flying qualities of the EA-6B and to upgrade the avonics and electronic warfare systems.
The intention was to modify all EA-6Bs into the ADVCAP configuration, however the program was removed from the Fiscal Year 1995 budget due to financial pressure from competing Department of Defense acquisition programs. According to news reports, the Prowler has been used in anti-improvised explosive device operations in the current conflict in Afghanistan for several years by jamming remote detonation devices such as garage door openers or cellular telephones.[9]
Two Prowler squadrons were also based in Iraq, working with the same mission.[10]
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