Grumman EA-6 Prowler

The basis for the creation of the EA-6B Prowler was another Grumman aircraft - the A-6 Intruder carrier-based attack aircraft . When creating the car, the fuselage length was increased, due to which the crew was increased. Also, when creating the aircraft, the experience of operating similar to the tasks of the EA-6A aircraft was used. The first flight of the aircraft took place on May 25, 1968 , and already in 1971 the aircraft entered service with the US Navy . The crew of the machine consists of four people - a pilot and three officer-operators of electronic warfare systems. When the Proler was adopted, a tactical jamming system was installed on it, capable of jamming signals from five radar installations at once. The first 23 EA-6B aircraft had standard equipment in the form of electronic suppression stations ALQ-92 and ALQ-99 .

In 1973, 25 cars with a significantly modified EXCAP fuselage design and a new tactical jamming system ALQ-99A were produced. In 1976, 45 new and 17 previously manufactured aircraft were equipped with personal protection indicators to suppress enemy weapons controls and the AN / ALQ-126 system. The 55 remaining Prolers have been upgraded again by installing jamming systems on them that can identify and track targets. These aircraft were especially effective in conjunction with guided missiles AGM-88A, which also equipped these aircraft.

ADVCAP Program

In the late 1980s, the “Promoters” of the EA-6B variant were improved in two directions by the ADVCAP program. First of all, the new AN / ALE-39 jamming station, passive tracking and signal suppression systems were installed. The avionics modernization program has resulted in equipping the EA-6B with new liquid crystal indicators, a more powerful radar , digital autopilot and AN / ALQ-19 communications system. Improving the flight characteristics of the aircraft occurred during the implementation of the VEP program (technical modernization program). The advanced EA-6B reinforced the fuselage structure, installed new flaps, aerodynamic brakes, etc.

The aircraft is present in the games "Tom Clancy`s HAWX" and "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory".

• On May 26, 1981, the EA-6B made an emergency landing on the deck of the aircraft carrier CVN-68 USS Nimitz , killing 14 people and injuring 45.
• On February 3, 1998, while patrolling the Italian Alps near the Italian ski resort of Cavalese, the EA-6B Prowler from the US Marine Corps cut off the cable car . As a result, one cabin fell from a height of about 90 m and crashed, all 20 passengers in it died. The plane received damage to the wing, but managed to land at the American air base Aviano. As a result, the crew after long trials was acquitted, which caused serious tensions in Italian-American relations.
• On March 11, 2013, while performing a planned training flight in the US state of Washington, the EA-6B Prowler (ser. Number 158815) fell on a farmer’s field and created a huge funnel at the crash site. The crash occurred in the countryside. Three people became victims of the crash - the entire crew of the aircraft. ^[2]

03/13/2019, the US Marine Corps wrote off the latest EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft. He was assigned to the VMAQ-2 squadron at Cherry Point Base in North Carolina. Now the American Marines were left without specialized electronic warfare aircraft.

US Marine Corps adopted the Proler aircraft in 1977. Since then, she has received 48 such aircraft. After decommissioning, all EA-6Bs were deposited with the exception of two, which the military handed over to the National Aeronautics and Astronautics Museum in Virginia and the Texas Aviation Sources Museum.

Partially, the F-35B fighter with short take-off and vertical landing took over the functions of the EA-6B as part of the US Marine Corps.

Until 2015, Proler electronic warfare aircraft were also used by the US Navy. The last flight of the fleet-owned EA-6B took place on June 27, 2015. In total, aircraft of this type stood in service with the naval aviation of the U.S. Navy for 44 years. Taken from CVMP.

The specifications given correspond to the EA-6B modification. Data Source: DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY - NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER ^[3]

Specifications

• Crew : 4
• Length : 18.1 m
• Wing span : 16.15 m
  • folded : 7.595 m
• Height : 4,953 m
• Wing Area: 49.14 m²
• 1/4 chord sweep : 25 °
• Wing Elongation Ratio : 5.31
• Wing profile : NACA 64A005.9 mod - wingtip, NACA 64A008.4 mod - wing root
• Chassis base : 5.235 m
• Track track : 3.315 m
• Empty weight: 14 350 kg
• Curb weight: 14 970 kg
• Normal take-off weight: 27,240 kg (c 5 × PTB)
• Maximum take-off weight : 29,480 kg
• The mass of fuel in internal tanks: 6 995 kg
• The volume of fuel tanks : 8 585 l (+ 5 × 1 136 l of PTB )
• Powerplant: 2 × turbojet engine Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8A
• Thrust : 2 × 41.37 kN

Flight characteristics

• Maximum speed: 980 km / h
• Cruising speed : 759 km / h (with 5 × EW containers)
• Stall speed: 165-210 km / h (depending on weight)
• Combat radius: 593-620 km (with 5 × EW containers)
• Practical range: 2 898 km (without PTB without combat load)
• Ferry range: 3,733 km (with PTB without combat load)
• Practical ceiling : 12,620 m
• Rate of climb: 39.27 m / s (without PTB without combat load with a full supply of fuel)
• Wing load: 497 kg / m² (with 5 × EW containers)
• Thrust-weight ratio : 0.346 (with 5 × EW containers)
• Take-off length: 674 m (with 5 × EW containers)
• Mileage: 500-564 m (depending on landing weight)

Armament

• Pendant points: 5
• EW containers : 5 × ALQ-99 containers with output power up to 6.8 kW each, frequency range from 30 MHz to 18 GHz ^[4]
• Outboard fuel tanks : 5 × 1,136 L

  USA 92 ^[5]

Related developments

• Grumman A-6 Intruder

Analogs

• General Dynamics / Grumman EF-111A Raven
• Boeing EA-18 Growler

Lists

• List of aircraft