Grumman EA-6B Prowler
The Grumman EA-6B Prowler was developed primarily to replace older electronic warfare aircraft in US Navy service, namely the EKA-3B Skywarrior, as well as a response to the growing lethality of Eastern Bloc electronic threats. Initially, the ALQ-99 electronics suite was installed in a standard A-6 Intruder airframe as the EA-6A, but the aircraft was somewhat limited and workload was heavier for a two-man crew, especially in combat. EA-6As did see combat in Vietnam with the US Marine Corps, but something better was clearly needed. The result was the lengthened EA-6B Prowler, which upgraded the electronics suite considerably and also added two more crewmembers to reduce workload and increase effectiveness. The EA-6B first flew in May 1968, and entered US Navy and Marine service in 1971.
The ALQ-99 system is divided between several antennae on the aircraft, including the distinctive “football” antenna at the top of the tail. Most of the noise jammers are in the three or five underwing pods the Prowler almost always carries, though in the case of a three-pod arrangement, often antiradar missiles such as the AGM-88 HARM. It can also be used as an electronics intelligence (Elint) aircraft.
Continually updated over its life, the EA-6B has also seen action in both Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo; in service over the Middle East, the Prowler has proven effective in jamming IED detonation signals. With the retirement of the USAF’s EF-111 Ravens, the EA-6B was the sole ECM aircraft in US service, further contributing to the overwork of the aircraft, and has often been the only ECM aircraft available in NATO operations as well. The last of the A-6 family in service, the Prowler has almost been completely replaced by the EF-18G Growler, beginning in 2009.
This EA-6B, Bureau Number 161884, is the newest addition (as of 2015) to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. Formerly with VAQ-134 ("Garudas"), it was one of the last active duty US Navy Prowlers, making the type's final sea deployment aboard the USS George HW Bush (CVN-77); as such, its short flight from NAS Whidbey Island to Boeing Field, in May 2015, was one of the last made by a Navy EA-6B. It carries the current standard US Navy overall gray scheme and still shows the wear and tear of a combat cruise. I saw it in August 2015, a little crowded in between the Museum's Concorde and Boeing 787.
Grumman EA-6B Prowler
The Grumman EA-6B Prowler was developed primarily to replace older electronic warfare aircraft in US Navy service, namely the EKA-3B Skywarrior, as well as a response to the growing lethality of Eastern Bloc electronic threats. Initially, the ALQ-99 electronics suite was installed in a standard A-6 Intruder airframe as the EA-6A, but the aircraft was somewhat limited and workload was heavier for a two-man crew, especially in combat. EA-6As did see combat in Vietnam with the US Marine Corps, but something better was clearly needed. The result was the lengthened EA-6B Prowler, which upgraded the electronics suite considerably and also added two more crewmembers to reduce workload and increase effectiveness. The EA-6B first flew in May 1968, and entered US Navy and Marine service in 1971.
The ALQ-99 system is divided between several antennae on the aircraft, including the distinctive “football” antenna at the top of the tail. Most of the noise jammers are in the three or five underwing pods the Prowler almost always carries, though in the case of a three-pod arrangement, often antiradar missiles such as the AGM-88 HARM. It can also be used as an electronics intelligence (Elint) aircraft.
Continually updated over its life, the EA-6B has also seen action in both Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, Bosnia, and Kosovo; in service over the Middle East, the Prowler has proven effective in jamming IED detonation signals. With the retirement of the USAF’s EF-111 Ravens, the EA-6B was the sole ECM aircraft in US service, further contributing to the overwork of the aircraft, and has often been the only ECM aircraft available in NATO operations as well. The last of the A-6 family in service, the Prowler has almost been completely replaced by the EF-18G Growler, beginning in 2009.
This EA-6B, Bureau Number 161884, is the newest addition (as of 2015) to the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington. Formerly with VAQ-134 ("Garudas"), it was one of the last active duty US Navy Prowlers, making the type's final sea deployment aboard the USS George HW Bush (CVN-77); as such, its short flight from NAS Whidbey Island to Boeing Field, in May 2015, was one of the last made by a Navy EA-6B. It carries the current standard US Navy overall gray scheme and still shows the wear and tear of a combat cruise. I saw it in August 2015, a little crowded in between the Museum's Concorde and Boeing 787.