HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Northrop Grumman (formerly
Grumman The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 ...
) EA-6B Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, mid-wing
electronic-warfare aircraft An electronic-warfare aircraft is a military aircraft equipped for electronic warfare (EW), that is, degrading the effectiveness of enemy radar and radio systems by using radar jamming and deception methods. In 1943, British Avro Lancaster airc ...
derived from the
A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...
airframe. The EA-6A was the initial
electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
version of the A-6 used by the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
and
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
. Development on the more advanced EA-6B began in 1966. An EA-6B aircrew consisted of one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers, though it was not uncommon for only two ECMOs to be used on missions. It was capable of carrying and firing
anti-radiation missile An anti-radiation missile (ARM) is a missile designed to detect and home in on an enemy radio emission source. Typically, these are designed for use against an enemy radar, although jammers and even radios used for communications can also be ...
s (ARMs), such as the
AGM-88 HARM The AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) is a tactical, air-to-surface missile, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems. It was originally developed ...
. The Prowler was in service with the U.S. Armed Forces from 1971 until 2019. It has carried out numerous missions for jamming enemy radar systems, and in gathering radio intelligence on those and other enemy
air defense system Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes Surface-to-air m ...
s. From the 1998 retirement of the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
EF-111 Raven electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-6B was the only dedicated electronic warfare plane available for missions by the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Marine Corps, and the U.S. Air Force until the fielding of the Navy's
EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. ...
in 2009. Following its last deployment in late 2014, the EA-6B was withdrawn from U.S. Navy service in June 2015, followed by the USMC in March 2019.


Development


Origins

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 The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...
airframe, with two seats, equipped with
electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
(EW) equipment. The EA-6A was used by three Marine Corps squadrons during the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. A total of 27 EA-6As were produced, 15 of which were newly manufactured. Most of these EA-6As were retired from service in the 1970s with the last few being used by the Navy with two electronic attack "aggressor" squadrons, with all examples finally retired in the 1990s. The EA-6A was essentially an interim
warplane A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equi ...
until the more-advanced EA-6B could be designed and built. The substantially redesigned and more advanced EA-6B was developed beginning in 1966 as a replacement for EKA-3B Skywarriors for the U.S. 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 A vertical stabilizer or tail fin is the static part of the vertical tail of an aircraft. The term is commonly applied to the assembly of both this fixed surface and one or more movable rudders hinged to it. Their role is to provide control, s ...
. Grumman was awarded a $12.7 million contract to develop an EA-6B prototype on 14 November 1966. The Prowler first flew on 25 May 1968, and it entered service on aircraft carriers in July 1971. 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. The EA-6B Prowler was powered by two Pratt & Whitney J52
turbojet engine The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
s, and it was capable of high subsonic speeds. Due to its extensive electronic warfare operations, and the aircraft's age (produced until 1991), the EA-6B was a high-maintenance aircraft, and had undergone many frequent equipment upgrades. Although designed as an electronic warfare and command-and-control aircraft for air strike missions, the EA-6B was also capable of attacking some surface targets on its own, in particular enemy
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
sites and surface-to-air missile launchers. In addition, the EA-6B was capable of gathering electronic signals intelligence. The EA-6B Prowler was continually upgraded over the years. The first such upgrade 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 The AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile) is a tactical, air-to-surface missile, air-to-surface anti-radiation missile designed to home in on electronic transmissions coming from surface-to-air radar systems. It was originally developed ...
missiles.


Advanced Capability EA-6B

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
avionics Avionics (a blend of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fit ...
and
electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
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 Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...
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 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 In fluid dynamics, angle of attack (AOA, α, or \alpha) is the angle between a reference line on a body (often the chord line of an airfoil) and the vector representing the relative motion between the body and the fluid through which it is ...
, 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. 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 A head-up display, or heads-up display, also known as a HUD (), is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints. The origin of the name stems from a pilot being able to view informa ...
for the pilot, and dual Global Positioning/
Inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dir ...
s. 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. Over the next several years, the three aircraft were dismantled and reassembled to create a single aircraft, b/n 158542, which the Navy dubbed "FrankenProwler". It was returned to active service on 23 March 2005.


Improved Capability (ICAP) III

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...
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 Radar jamming and deception is a form of electronic countermeasures that intentionally sends out radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information. Concepts that blanket the ...
and threat location. The ICAP III sets also are equipped with the Multifunction Information Distribution System (MIDS), which includes the
Link 16 Link 16 is a military tactical data link network used by NATO and nations allowed by the MIDS International Program Office (IPO). Its specification is part of the family of Tactical Data Links. With Link 16, military aircraft as well as ship ...
data link system. Northrop delivered two lots and delivered two more beginning in 2010. The EA-6B Prowlers in service toward the end of its life were the ICAP III version, carrying the ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System.


Design

Designed for carrier-based and advanced base operations, the EA-6B was a fully integrated
electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
system combining long-range, all-weather capabilities with advanced
electronic countermeasures An electronic countermeasure (ECM) is an electrical or electronic device designed to trick or deceive radar, sonar, or other detection systems, like infrared (IR) or lasers. It may be used both offensively and defensively to deny targeting info ...
. A forward equipment bay and pod-shaped fairing on the vertical fin housed the additional avionics equipment. It was the primary electronic warfare aircraft for the U.S Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The EA-6B's primary mission was to support ground-attack strikes by disrupting enemy
electromagnetic In physics, electromagnetism is an interaction that occurs between particles with electric charge. It is the second-strongest of the four fundamental interactions, after the strong force, and it is the dominant force in the interactions o ...
activity. As a secondary mission it could also gather tactical
electronic intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...
within a combat zone, and another secondary mission was attacking enemy radar sites with anti-radiation missiles. The Prowler had a crew of four, a pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers (known as ECMOs). Powered by two non-
afterburning An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408A
turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, an ...
engines, it was capable of speeds of up to with a range of 1,140 miles (1,840 km). Design particulars included the refueling probe being asymmetrical, appearing bent to the right to improve pilot visibility over that of the A-6 Intruder. It contained an antenna near its root. The canopy had a shading of gold to protect the crew against the radio emissions that the electronic warfare equipment produces.


Operational history

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 11 months later, soon followed by VAQ-131 on and VAQ-134 on . Two squadrons of EA-6B Prowlers flew 720 sorties during the Vietnam War in support of US Navy attack aircraft and USAF B-52 bombers. During the 1983 invasion of Grenada, four Prowlers supported the operation from . Following the
Achille Lauro hijacking The ''Achille Lauro'' hijacking took place on 7 October 1985, when the Italian ocean liner MS ''Achille Lauro'' was hijacked by four men representing the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) off the coast of Egypt, as she was sailing from Alexandria ...
, on 10 October 1985 Prowlers from provided ESM support during the interception of the EgyptAir 737 carrying four of the hijackers. Prowlers jammed Libyan radar during
Operation El Dorado Canyon The 1986 United States bombing of Libya, code-named Operation El Dorado Canyon, consisted of air strikes by the United States against Libya on Tuesday 15 April 1986. The attack was carried out by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), U.S. Navy and U.S. M ...
in April 1986. Prowlers from VAQ-135 on jammed Iranian Ground Control Intercept radars, surface-to-air missile guidance radars and communication systems during
Operation Praying Mantis Operation Praying Mantis was an attack on 18 April 1988, by the United States Armed Forces within Iranian territorial waters in retaliation for the Iranian naval mining of the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War and the subsequent damage t ...
on 18 April 1988. A total of 39 EA-6B Prowlers were involved in
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
in 1991, 27 from six aircraft carriers and 12 from USMC bases. During 4,600 flight hours, Prowlers fired over 150
HARM Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg gives an account of harm as setbacks to inte ...
missiles. Navy Prowlers flew 1,132 sorties and USMC flew 516 with no losses. With the retirement of the EF-111 Raven in 1998, the EA-6B was the only dedicated aerial radar jammer aircraft of the U.S. Armed Forces, until the fielding of the Navy's
EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. ...
in 2009. The EA-6B was flown in almost all American combat operations from 1972 until its retirement in 2019, and was frequently flown in support of the U.S. Air Force missions. In 2001, 124 Prowlers remained, divided between twelve Navy, four Marine, and four joint Navy-Air Force "Expeditionary" squadrons. A
Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...
(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 land based "expeditionary" Prowler squadrons to meet the needs of the Air Force. From 2004-2014 the U.S. Air Force augmented Navy Prowler units with Electronic Warfare Officers from the 388th and 390th Electronic Combat Squadrons assigned to the 366th Operations Group at
Mountain Home AFB Mountain Home Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation in the western United States. Located in southwestern Idaho in Elmore County, the base is southwest of Mountain Home, which is southeast of Boise via Interstate ...
,
Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...
. Though once considered being replaced by
Common Support Aircraft The Common Support Aircraft (CSA) was a proposed concept, which has been considered by the United States Navy since at least the early 1990s, to replace a number of different fixed-wing aircraft capable of operating from an aircraft carrier and w ...
, that plan failed to materialize. In 2009, the Navy EA-6B Prowler community began transitioning to the
EA-18G Growler The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. ...
, a new
electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
derivative of the
F/A-18F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...
. All but one of the active duty Navy EA-6B squadrons were based at
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...
. VAQ-136 was stationed at
Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean and once housed the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which ...
, 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 EA-6B squadron, was stationed at Naval Air Facility Washington, Maryland. All Marine Corps EA-6B squadrons were located at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point,
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
. In 2013, the USN planned to fly the EA-6B until 2015, while the USMC expect to phase out the Prowler in 2019. The last Navy deployment was on in November 2014, with VAQ-134. The last Navy operational flight took place on 27 May 2015. Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet (CVWP), hosted a retirement commemoration for the EA-6B from 25 to 27 June 2015 at NAS Whidbey Island.


Operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria

In 2007, it was reported that the Prowler had been used in counter
improvised explosive device An improvised explosive device (IED) is a bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action. It may be constructed of conventional military explosives, such as an artillery shell, attached to a detonating mecha ...
operations in the conflict in Afghanistan for several years by jamming remote detonation devices such as garage door openers or cellular telephones. Two Prowler squadrons were also based in Iraq, working with the same mission. According to
Chuck Pfarrer Charles Patrick Pfarrer III (born April 13, 1957) is an American writer, film producer, and former United States Navy SEAL. As an author, he has penned published screenplays, novels, comic book, and non-fiction works. Regardless of medium, his wo ...
in his book ''SEAL Target Geronimo'', an EA-6B was also used to jam Pakistani radar and assist the 2 MH-60 Black Hawk stealth helicopters and 2 Chinook helicopters raiding Osama Bin Laden's compound in
Operation Neptune Spear On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was shot several times and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, by United States Navy SEALs of the U.S. Naval Spe ...
.
VMAQ-3 Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 3 (VMAQ-3) was one of four Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadrons in the United States Marine Corps. The squadron consisted EA-6B Prowler jets and was tasked with conducting airborne electronic warfare. ...
began flying Prowler missions against Islamic State militants over Iraq in June 2014. Once Operation Inherent Resolve began in August,
VMAQ-4 Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 4 (VMAQ-4) was a United States Marine Corps electronic warfare squadron consisting of EA-6B Prowler jets. The squadron was last based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina and fell und ...
took over. The Prowlers were the first Marine Corps aircraft in Syria and support strike packages, air drops, and electronic warfare requirements against militants. By January 2015, the five aircraft of VMAQ-4 had flown 800 hours during 110 sorties in support of operations in both countries, including supporting coalition airstrikes and providing EW support for Iraqi Army forces to degrade enemy systems. Marine Prowlers had not dropped munitions themselves and host nations basing them have not been revealed. In April 2016, a squadron of EA-6B Prowlers from Marine Corps Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 4 (VMAQ-4), based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, was deployed to
Incirlik Air Base Incirlik Air Base ( tr, İncirlik Hava Üssü) is a Turkish air base of slightly more than 3320 ac (1335 ha), located in the İncirlik quarter of the city of Adana, Turkey. The base is within an urban area of 1.7 million people, east of ...
, Turkey for operations over Syria. U.S. European Command confirmed that the deployment was expected to last through September 2016. The
Center for Strategic and International Studies The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is an American think tank based in Washington, D.C. CSIS was founded as the Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University in 1962. The center conducts polic ...
suggested that the Prowlers may be used to prevent Russian and Syrian air defense systems from tracking U.S. and coalition aircraft. Prowlers of VMAQ-2 completed their last operational deployment to
Al Udeid Air Base Al Udeid Air Base ( ar, قاعدة العديد الجوية) is one of two military bases southwest of Doha, Qatar, also known as Abu Nakhlah Airport (). It houses the Qatar Emiri Air Force, United States Air Force, Royal Air Force, and othe ...
,
Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
in November 2018, and the squadron, the last equipped with the EA-6B, was disbanded on 8 March 2019, with its remaining two Prowlers being disposed of to museums.


Operators

The EA-6B Prowler was operated by the U.S. Armed Forces with squadrons in the U.S. Marine Corps and
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
.


USMC squadrons

VMAQ squadrons operated the EA-6B Prowler. Each of the three squadrons operated five aircraft; the squadrons were land-based, although they were capable of operating aboard U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and did so in the past. In 2013, VMAQ-1 converted from an active to a training squadron as the USN stopped training on the Prowler and switched over to the Growler. The Marine Training squadron first received students for training in October 2013 and produced its first training flights in April 2014. In 2008, the USMC investigated an electronic attack role for the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and attack ...
to replace their Prowlers. The Marines began retiring the EA-6 in 2016 and replaced them with the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Electronic Warfare (MAGTF-EW) concept, which calls for a medium to high-altitude long-endurance
unmanned aerial vehicle An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controll ...
to off-load at least some of the electronic warfare mission. In November 2018, VMAQ-2 returned from performing the final deployed operations of USMC Prowlers. The Marines retired the aircraft on 8 March 2019, with some placed in storage and on static display at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...
of the National Air and Space Museum in
Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...
and the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field.


USN squadrons

While in U.S. Navy service four EA-6B Prowlers were typically assigned to a Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron. These Navy Electronic Attack squadrons carried the letters VAQ (V-fixed wing, A-attack, Q-electronic); most of these squadrons were carrier-based, while others were "expeditionary" and deployed to overseas land bases.


Disestablished Squadrons

VAQ-128: Established as an expeditionary squadron in October 1997, utilizing the insignia and heritage of the former
A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...
Fleet Replacement Squadron at NAS Whidbey Island. Disestablished in September 2004 due to budget reductions. VAQ-309: Established as a Naval Air Reserve Force squadron at NAS Whidbey Island in 1979 with EA-6A aircraft, transitioning to the EA-6B in 1989 as part of Carrier Air Wing Reserve THIRTY (CVWR-30). Disestablished on 31 Dec 1994 following the decommissioning of CVWR-30 due to budget cuts; aircraft returned to the Regular Navy.


Notable accidents

While no Prowler has ever been lost in combat, nearly fifty of the 170 built were destroyed in various accidents as of 2013. In 1998, a memorial at
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...
was dedicated to 44 crew members lost in EA-6B aircraft accidents. * On 26 May 1981, a USMC EA-6B crashed onto the flight deck of and caused a fire, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others. The Prowler was running out of fuel after a missed approach ("bolter" in Navy parlance), and its crash and the subsequent fire and explosions destroyed or damaged 19 other aircraft. * On 3 November 1992 a US Navy EA-6B Prowler (161776,P99 First lCAP ll) from VAQ 129 crashed after takeoff outside of Naval Air Facility, El Centro killing all three crew members aboard; Crew included Capt. Peter Limoge (USMC), LT. Charles Gurley (USN), LT. Dave Roberts (USN). Los Angeles Times 11/5/1992 *In August 1996, an EA-6B crashed during low level training, killing all four Marines aboard; pilot, Capt. Gregory O. Glaeser, Capt. Brian F. Hussey, Lt. Col. Joseph E. Connell II, and Maj. John S. Bacheller. Connell was the squadron skipper of VMAQ-1. * On 3 February 1998, a USMC EA-6B Prowler, BuNo 163045, from VMAQ-2 struck the cables of a cablecar system in
Cavalese Cavalese (''Cavalés'' in local dialect) is a ''comune'' of 4,004 inhabitants in Trentino, northern Italy, a ski resort and the main center in the Fiemme Valley. It is part of the Magnifica Comunità di Fiemme (Magnificent Community of Fiemme) a ...
, Italy. The crew broke rules to fly low at high speed in mountainous terrain, cut the cables and caused the death of 20 people. The aircraft also suffered severe damage to its vertical stabiliser and wings as a result of striking the cable, but was landed successfully at Aviano Air Base. * On 8 November 1998, a USN EA-6B landed on a
Lockheed S-3 Viking The Lockheed S-3 Viking is a four-crew, twin-engine turbofan-powered jet aircraft designed and produced by the American aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Corporation. Because of its characteristic sound, it was nicknamed the "War Hoover" after th ...
during night landing qualifications on ; four crew members were killed. *On 11 March 2013, a USN EA-6B of Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-129 in Washington State, crashed during a training exercise. LTJG Valerie Cappelaere Delaney (Pilot), LTJG William Brown McIlvaine III (Flight Officer), and LCDR Alan A. Patterson (Instructor and Flight Officer) were killed. A year later, an investigation determined that the Prowler experienced a
controlled flight into terrain In aviation, a controlled flight into terrain (CFIT; usually ) is an accident in which an airworthy aircraft, under pilot control, is unintentionally flown into the ground, a mountain, a body of water or an obstacle. In a typical CFIT scenario, ...
that was due to pilot error.


Variants

* EA-6A: Two early production A-6As converted to EA-6As as prototypes. Total of 25 EA-6As were built, including 10 conversions of A-6As and 15 production EA-6A

* EA-6B: Three A-6As converted as initial prototypes. Total of 170 EA-6Bs were buil


Aircraft on display


Japan

* 160786 – EA-6B on static display at
Naval Air Facility Atsugi is a joint Japan-US naval air base located in the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa, Japan. It is the largest United States Navy (USN) air base in the Pacific Ocean and once housed the squadrons of Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5), which ...
in
Yamato, Kanagawa is a city located in central Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 242,065 and a population density of 8900 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Yamato is located approximately 40 to 50 kil ...
.


United States

* 147865 – EA-6A on static display at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina. * 148618 – EA-6A on static display at
Naval Air Station Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an air ...
in Big Coppitt Key, Florida. * 149475 – EA-6A on static display at the Wisconsin National Guard Memorial Library and Museum at
Volk Field Air National Guard Base Volk Field Air National Guard Base is a military airport located near the village of Camp Douglas, in Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States., effective 2007-07-05 It is also known as the Volk Field Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC). T ...
in Camp Douglas, Wisconsin. * 156481 – EA-6B on static display at the
National Naval Aviation Museum The National Naval Aviation Museum, formerly known as the National Museum of Naval Aviation and the Naval Aviation Museum, is a military and aerospace museum located at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1962 and moved to its cur ...
in Pensacola, Florida. * 156478 – EA-6B on static display at
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington. The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...
in
Oak Harbor, Washington Oak Harbor is a city located on Whidbey Island in Island County, Washington, United States. The population was 22,075 at the 2010 census. Oak Harbor was incorporated on May 14, 1915. History Oak Harbor - otherwise known as Kla-tole-tsche in t ...
. * 156984 – EA-6A on static display at the Warner Museum of Aviation and Transportation in
Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County ...
. * 158029 – EA-6B on static display at
Naval Air Station Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air S ...
in
Lexington Park, Maryland Lexington Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States, and the principal community of the Lexington Park, Maryland Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,626 at th2010 census History Nati ...
. * 158033 – EA-6B on static display at
Patuxent River Naval Air Museum The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum is a museum at Lexington Park, Maryland, first opened in 1978, which preserves and interprets the Naval Air Station Patuxent River history and heritage of advancing US naval aviation technology with artifacts, ...
in Lexington Park, Maryland. * 158034 – EA-6B on static display at Charles B. Hall Airpark at
Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, surrounded by Del City, Oklahoma City, and Midwest City. The base, origina ...
in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
. * 158036 – EA-6B on static display at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Washington. * 158542 ''FrankenProwler'' – EA-6B on static display at the
Pima Air & Space Museum The Pima Air & Space Museum, located in Tucson, Arizona, is one of the world's largest non-government funded aerospace museums. The museum features a display of nearly 300 aircraft spread out over 80 acres (320,000 m²) on a campus oc ...
in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
. Three different ADVCAP airframes were assembled to create this one airframe. * 158810 – EA-6B on static display at
Naval Air Station Fallon Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility. It is located southeast of the city of Fallon, east of Reno in western Nevada. Since 1996, it has been home to the U.S. Na ...
in
Fallon, Nevada Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley. History The community was first populat ...
. * 158811 – EA-6B on static display at the
Pacific Coast Air Museum The Pacific Coast Air Museum, in Santa Rosa, California, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving aviation history through the acquisition, restoration, and display of historic aircraft. The museum displays a varied collec ...
in
Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...
. * 160432 – EA-6B on static display at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina. * 160436 – EA-6B on static display at the
Castle Air Museum Castle Air Museum is a military aviation museum located in Atwater, California, United States adjacent to Castle Airport, a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base which was closed in 1995, after the end of the Cold War. It ...
in
Atwater, California Atwater is a city on State Route 99 in Merced County, California, United States. Atwater is west-northwest of Merced, at an elevation of . The population as of the 2020 census was 31,970, up from 28,168 in 2010. Geography Atwater is in northe ...
. * 160609 – EA-6B on static display at
Naval Air Station Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately eight miles (13 km) south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jac ...
in
Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...
. * 161882 – EA-6B on static display at the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. * 161884 – EA-6B on static display at the
Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is a private non-profit air and space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of Seattle. ...
in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
. It is on loan from the National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida. *162228 – EA-6B on static display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Dallas Love Field in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
. This aircraft along with 162230 participated in the decommissioning of VMAQ-2 in March, 2019. *162230 – EA-6B on static display at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, also called the Udvar-Hazy Center, is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM)'s annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia. It holds numerous ...
in
Chantilly, Virginia Chantilly is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Fairfax County, Virginia, Fairfax County, Virginia. The population was 24,301 as of the 2020 census. Chantilly is named after an early-19th-century mansion and farm, which in turn took the ...
. This aircraft along with 162228 participated in the decommissioning of VMAQ-2 in March, 2019. * 162935 – EA-6B on static display at the USS Midway Museum in
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. * 162938 – EA-6B on static display at the American Airpower Museum in
Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale is an incorporated village on Long Island within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, New York. The population was 8,189 as of the 2010 Census. The Lenox Hills neighborhood is adjacent to Bethpage State Park and the rest of the ...
. * 163033 – EA-6B on static display at the Hickory Aviation Museum in
Hickory, North Carolina Hickory is a city located primarily in Catawba County, with formal boundaries extending into Burke and Caldwell counties. The city lies in the U.S. state of North Carolina. At the time of the 2020 census, Hickory's population was 43,490. Hickor ...
. It flew to the museum from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point. * 163395 – EA-6B on static display at the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
in Annapolis, Maryland. * 163886 – EA-6B on static display at the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. * 163890 – EA-6B on static display at
Naval Base Ventura County Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) is a United States Navy base in Ventura County, California. Formed by the merger of NAS Point Mugu and CBC Port Hueneme, NBVC is a diverse installation composed of three main locations — Point Mugu, Port Huenem ...
in Camarillo, California. * 164401 – EA-6B on static display at Naval Support Activity Crane in Crane, Indiana.


Specifications (EA-6B)


See also


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Donald, David ed. "Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler", ''Warplanes of the Fleet''. AIRtime, 2004. . * Miska, Kurt H. "Grumman A-6A/E Intruder; EA-6A; EA6B Prowler (Aircraft in Profile number 252)". ''Aircraft in Profile, Volume 14''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1974, p. 137–160. .


External links


EA-6B Prowler Fact File
an




EA-6B Gondola Mishap, Cavalese, Italy, 3 February 1998
Aviation Safety Consulting Services,

{{Authority control EA-006B Prowler 1960s United States electronic warfare aircraft Twinjets Carrier-based aircraft EA-006B Prowler Mid-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1968