The
EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, mid-wing
electronic warfare aircraft manufactured by
Grumman (now
Northrop Grumman) as a modification of the basic
A-6 Intruder airframe.
Development
The
EA-6A "Electric Intruder" was developed for the
United States Marine Corps in the 1960s to replace the
EF-10B Skyknight. It was a direct conversion of the standard two-seat
A-6 Intruder airframe fitted with
electronic warfare (EW) equipment. The EA-6A was used by three USMC squadrons during
Vietnam War. A total of 27 were built with 15 of those being new builds.
Most were retired in the 1970s with the last few retiring in the 1990s.
The EA-6A was essentially an interim aircraft.
thumb|left|A Marine EA-6A Intruder over Cherry Point, 1978. The two-seat EA-6A would be followed by the more advanced four-seat EA-6B Prowler.The much more advanced and substantially redesigned EA-6B was developed beginning in 1966 as a replacement for
EKA-3B Skywarriors for the
United States Navy. The forward fuselage was lengthened for a larger four-seat cockpit and the antenna fairing added to the tip of the
vertical stabilizer.
The Prowler first flew on 25 May 1968 and entered service in July 1971.
Three prototype EA-6Bs were converted from A-6As and five EA-6Bs were development airframes. A total of 170 EA-6B production aircraft were built through 1991.
The Prowler is powered by two non-
afterburning jet engines and is capable of high subsonic speeds. Since EW operations are very demanding, the Prowler is a high-maintenance aircraft and also undergoes more frequent equipment upgrades than any other aircraft in the Navy. Although designed as an electronic escort and command and control platform for strike missions, the EA-6B is also capable of attacking surface targets on its own, especially
radar antennae,
surface-to-air missile launchers, and other enemy defenses. In addition, the aircraft is highly capable of gathering
electronic intelligence.
The EA-6B Prowler has been continually upgraded over the years. The first was which was named "expanded capability" (EXCAP) beginning in 1973. Then came "improved capability" (ICAP) in 1976 and ICAP II in 1980. ICAP II provided the capability to fire
AGM-88 HARM missiles.
Advanced Capability EA-6B
thumb|350px|EA-6B ADVCAPThe
Advanced Capability EA-6B Prowler (ADVCAP) was a development program initiated to improve the flying qualities of the EA-6B and to upgrade the
avionics 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.
The ADVCAP development program was initiated in the late 1980s and was broken into three distinct phases: Full-Scale Development (FSD), Vehicle Enhancement Program (VEP) and the Avionics Improvement Program (AIP).
FSD served primarily to evaluate the new AN/ALQ-149 Electronic Warfare System. The program utilized a slightly modified EA-6B to house the new system.
The VEP added numerous changes to the aircraft to address deficiencies with the original EA-6B flying qualities, particularly lateral-directional problems that hampered recovery from out-of-control flight. Bureau Number 158542 was used. Changes included:
- Leading edge strakes (to improve directional stability)
- Fin pod extension (to improve directional stability)
- Ailerons (to improve slow speed lateral control)
- Re-contoured leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps (to compensate for an increase in gross weight)
- Two additional wing stations on the outer wing panel (for jamming pods only)
- New J52-P-409 engines (increased thrust by 2,000 lbf (8.9 kN) per engine)
- New digital Standard Automatic Flight Control System (SAFCS)
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. 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 rearward shift of the CG had minimal impact.
thumb|"FrankenProwler" during a preflight inspection at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq.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. The initial joint test phase between the contractor and the US Navy test pilots completed successfully with few deficiencies.
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 "FrankenProwler". It was returned to active service 23 March 2005.
Improved Capability (ICAP)
Northrop Grumman received contracts from the US 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.
Design
Designed for
carrier and advanced base operations, the Prowler is a fully integrated
electronic warfare system combining long-range, all-weather capabilities with advanced
electronic countermeasures. A forward equipment bay and pod-shaped fairing on the vertical fin house the additional avionics equipment. It is the
United States Navy's (USN) and the
Marine Corps' primary electronic warfare aircraft. The primary mission of the aircraft is to support
ground-attack aircraft and troops by interrupting enemy electronic activity and obtaining tactical
electronic intelligence within a combat area.
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-408 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 kilometers).
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.
Operational history
thumb|right|EA-6B Prowler takes off from [[Eielson Air Force Base|Eielson AFB. Note the tint of the
gold embedded in the canopy. The gold provides protection from
electromagnetic interference and prevents some EM emissions]]
Since the retirement of the
EF-111 Raven in 1995, the EA-6B is one of the primary aerial radar jammers in the
Department of Defense (DoD) arsenal. It has been utilized in practically every U.S. combat operation and is frequently flown in support of the
United States Air Force.
About 125 Prowlers remain today, divided between twelve Navy, four Marine, and four joint Navy-Air Force "Expeditionary" squadrons. A
JCS staff study recommended that the EF-111 Raven be retired to reduce
Type/Model/Series aircraft dedicated to the same mission, which led to an
OSD Program Decision Memorandum (PDM) to establish 4 "expeditionary" Prowler squadrons composed of Navy and USAF personnel to meet the needs of the Air Force.
Though once considered being replaced by
Common Support Aircraft, the original plan failed to materialize. Although EA-6B remains in service today, the Navy EA-6B Prowler community is slated to be begin transitioning in 2009 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 . 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.
Operations in Afghanistan & Iraq
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. Two Prowler squadrons are also based in Iraq, working with the same mission.
Operators
thumb|upright|An EA-6B Prowler from VAQ-138 carrying two wing mounted jamming pods.The EA-6B Prowler is operated by the United States, and has squadrons in both its
Marine Corps and
Navy.
USMC squadrons
VMAQ squadrons operate the EA-6B Prowler. Each of the four squadrons operates five aircraft and are land-based, although they are capable of operating aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and have done so in the past.
The USMC is investigating an electronic attack role for the
F-35 Lightning II to replace their Prowlers.
USN squadrons
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.
Notable incidents
While no Prowler has ever been lost in combat, over forty were destroyed in various accidents as of 2007.
- On 26 May 1981, a USMC EA-6B crashed onto the flight deck of the and caused a fire, killing 14 crew men and injuring 45 others.
- A USMC EA-6B Prowler, BuNo 163045, from VMAQ-2 caused the Cavalese cable-car disaster on 3 February 1998, accidentally cutting the cables of a ski-lift in Italy during a low level flight in mountainous terrain and killing 20 civilians.
- In 1998, a memorial at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was dedicated to 44 crew members lost in EA-6B aircraft accidents. Later that year, on 10 November 1998, that total increased to 48 when four crew members were killed when a USN EA-6B collided with an S-3 Viking during night landing qualifications on . Five more aircraft have been lost since 1998, but none resulted in fatalities.
Specifications (EA-6B)
right|300px|[[Orthographic projection|Orthographically projected diagram of the Grumman EA-6B Prowler.]]
thumb|Two EA-6B Prowlers over [[Turkey flying in support of
Operation Northern Watch, 2002.]]
thumb|An EA-6B patrols the skies over Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1995.
See also
