{"id":102110,"date":"2019-04-03T18:00:32","date_gmt":"2019-04-03T17:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.globalaviationresource.com\/v2\/?p=102110"},"modified":"2019-04-03T11:32:10","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T10:32:10","slug":"military-aviation-the-ea-6b-prowler-prowls-no-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalaviationresource.com\/v2\/2019\/04\/03\/military-aviation-the-ea-6b-prowler-prowls-no-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Military Aviation – The EA-6B Prowler prowls no more"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.21.2″ custom_margin=”-70px|||” z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n

Thursday 14 March 2019 marked not just the final flight of the RAF’s Tornado GR.4, but also that of another hugely successful military aircraft \u2013 the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler. Gareth Stringer looks back on its development and lengthy operational career with the help of some stunning imagery.<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Friday 8 March, VMAQ-2 (US Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2), part of Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, disbanded. After more than 40 years of service, the EA-6B’s operational career was over.<\/p>\n

\"EA-6B

EA-6B – 158804 – VAQ-133 – USS Kennedy – 12\/75 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

Instantly recognisable, the Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, specialist electronic-warfare aircraft and was an advanced development of the two-seat EA-6A, which was itself a variant of the A-6 Intruder all-weather attack aircraft. Conceived specifically for the US Marine Corps to replace the Douglas EF-10B Skyknight, only 27 examples of the EA-6A entered service.<\/p>\n

The F-10 Skyknight, previously designated F3D Skyknight, first flew in 1948 and entered service in 1951 as night fighter and, due to its somewhat rotund appearance, earned itself the nickname \u2018Willie the Whale\u2019. But, appearances aside, the Skyknight not only downed a number of MiG-15 aircraft in the Korean War but played an important part in the development of the radar guided Sparrow missile as well as an electronic warfare (EW) platform \u2013 the precursor to the Prowler.<\/p>\n

\"EF-10B

EF-10B – 125846 – VMCJ-3 – Davis Monthan AFB – 08\/70 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

The EF-10B variant had proved itself to be a valuable asset in Vietnam and was utilised to jam the SA-2 surface-to-air missile’s tracking and guidance systems. Perhaps most notably, on 29 April 1965 Marine Corps squadron VMCJ-1 made history when its EF-10Bs conducted the first ever USMC airborne radar jamming mission in support of an Air Force strike package.<\/p>\n

The ageing EF-10B was in line for replacement though, with the Marine Corp\u2019s first production EA-6A entering service with VMCJ-2 in December 1965. The aircraft was deployed to Vietnam in October 1966 where it served with VMCJ-1 throughout the conflict. It is interesting to note that, due to demand for EW support, the EF-10B would eventually remain in theatre until 1969! <\/p>\n

\"EA-6A

EA-6A – 148618 – VMCJ-2 – Cherry Point – 09\/72 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

The EA-6A was a modified A-6 Intruder and was equipped with an AN\/ALQ-86 ECM (electronic counter measures) suite and the AN\/APQ-129 fire control radar, though the EA-6A never used offensive weapons in Vietnam. Most of the additional electronics were fitted within a fairing that was mounted on the vertical fin, sometimes called the ‘football’. The aircraft carried an ALQ-31 pod that contained a pair of radar jammers but this was soon replaced by the ALQ-76. This pod featured its own RAM (Ram Air Turbine) which allowed it to provide power to no less than four jammers and a typical load-out would see an EA-6A carrying three of the ALQ-76 pods, two chaff dispensers for self defence and pair of fuel tanks. This made it the most effective EW platform of its time and that load-out would form the basis for the EA-6B that followed later. <\/p>\n

In Vietnam the EA-6A was dedicated to performing the ECM escort role; namely escorting USMC A-6A Intruders on night time missions as they attacked heavily defended targets deep in North Vietnam. The ‘Electric Intruder’ (not an official name) was also instrumental in helping to reduce losses of American attack and reconnaissance aircraft to SA-2 surface-to-air missiles and radar controlled AAA (anti aircraft artillery) and provided major support for the Linebacker I and Linebacker II B-52 raids that eventually ended the air war over North Vietnam.<\/p>\n

\"EA-6A

EA-6A – 151596 – VMCJ-3 – North Island- 10\/73 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

The EA-6A began to be phased out of operational service in the mid-1970s but the aircraft remained in use, both with USN and USMC Reserve units and also the Navy’s specialised VAQ (electronic attack) units, primarily for training purposes. The EA-6A was retired in 1993 and the last units to operate the type were VAQ-33, an electronic aggressor squadron, and Reserve units VAQ-209, VAQ-309 and VMAQ-4.<\/p>\n

Development of the significantly redesigned and greatly advanced EA-6B Prowler actually began back in 1966 with the \u2018new\u2019 aircraft slated to replace both the EA-6A and the US Navy\u2019s EKA-3B Skywarrior, which didn’t itself deploy until 1967. This, like the EF-10B mentioned above, was an EW variant of an existing platform, namely the A-3B Skywarrior or ‘the Whale’; the A-3 being the heaviest operational aircraft to normally operate from an aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n

\"EKA-3B

EKA-3B – 142652 -VAQ-135 – Det 2 – Oceana – 09\/72 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

The EA-6B’s most obvious external development from the EA-6A was that the forward fuselage was lengthened to create a new area for a much larger cockpit. The result was a four-seat, long-range, all-weather, twin-engine aircraft, designed purely to locate, analyse and jam hostile radar and other electronic systems; clearing the way for allied fighter and attack aircraft by effectively suppressing the enemy\u2019s air defences.<\/p>\n

A forward equipment bay and large, pod-shaped fairing on the aircraft’s vertical fin housed additional avionics equipment while design peculiarities of note were a canted refuelling probe (at 12\u00b0) and a gold-shaded canopy to protect the crew (one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers or ECMO) against radio emissions from the aircraft\u2019s powerful electronic warfare equipment.<\/p>\n

\"\u00a9

\u00a9 Rob Edgcumbe – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

Measuring sixty feet (17.7 m) in length with a wingspan of 53 ft (15.9 m), the EA-6B was powered by two non-afterburning Pratt & Whitney J52 engines with a top speed of approx 600 mph and a published range of 1,140 miles, or almost 2,500 miles if fitted with drop tanks. A grand total of 170 EA-6B aircraft were manufactured from 1966 through 1991 and the Prowler flew more than 260,000 hours on operations with the US Marine Corps alone.<\/p>\n

The US Navy’s Fleet Replacement Squadron VAQ-129 brought the EA-6B into service in September 1970 and the first operational squadron was Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 (VAQ-132), in July 1971. VAQ-132 deployed to Vietnam on the USS America some 11 months later and was soon followed by VAQ-131 on USS Enterprise and VAQ-134 on USS Constellation.<\/p>\n

\"Airman

Airman Francisco Escobedo, assigned to the Gauntlets of Electronic Attack Squadron One Thirty Six (VAQ-136), prepares a High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM) on an EA-6B Prowler on the flight deck aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) – U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 3rd Class Todd Frantom<\/p><\/div>\n

The Prowler would go on to serve with distinction, for both the US Navy and USMC, frequently in support of USAF combat operations, first in Vietnam and then in Grenada, Libya (Operation El Dorado Canyon in 1986) and Operation Desert Storm (Gulf War 1 \u2013 1990 \/ 1991).<\/p>\n

During the latter, 39 EA-6B Prowlers were involved, with 27 operating from six aircraft carriers and 12 from USMC land bases. Flying some 4,600 flight hours, Prowlers fired over 150 HARM missiles across 1,132 US Navy sorties and 516 USMC sorties, with no losses.<\/p>\n

\"EA-6B

EA-6B – 158800 – VAQ-138 – USS Kennedy – 12\/80 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

Between the retirement of the EF-111 in 1998 and the first EA-18G Growler unit being declared operational in 2009, the Prowler was actually the only dedicated EW platform in service with the US armed forces. In 2001 a total of 124 Prowlers remained and these were divided between twelve US Navy, four USMC and four joint US Navy \/ US Air Force ‘expeditionary’ squadrons. It had been a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) staff study that had recommended the retirement of the EF-111 Raven in order to cut down on the types of aircraft in service that were dedicated to the same mission. This in turn led to a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the four land based expeditionary Prowler squadrons were formed to meet the EW needs of the US Air Force.<\/p>\n

For several years the Prowler was used to counter improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and Iraq and it has also been reported, although never confirmed by the Department of Defense, that an EA-6B was used to suppress radar while assisting the helicopters that raided Osama Bin Laden’s Pakistan compound in Operation Neptune Spear.<\/p>\n

\"\u00a9

\u00a9 Rob Edgcumbe – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

Prowler missions against the so-called Islamic State commenced over Iraq in June 2014 with VMAQ-3 and when Operation Inherent Resolve (the US’s operational name for the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) officially began in August that year, VMAQ-4 took over. The Prowlers were the first Marine Corps aircraft to operate in Syria and by January 2015 the aircraft of VMAQ-4 had flown 800 hours (110 sorties) in support of operations in both countries. In April 2016 Prowlers were deployed to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey for operations over Syria and these continued until the EA-6Bs of VMAQ-2 finally completed the aircraft\u2019s last operational deployment in November 2018.<\/p>\n

By this time the aircraft had already completed its last US Navy tour, late in 2014, and the Prowler had been fully withdrawn from Naval service in June 2015, while the Marines had begun drawing down its squadrons ahead of the aircraft\u2019s planned retirement in 2019. That draw-down commenced with the deactivation of the Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Training Squadron (VMAQT-1) in 2016 and this was followed by VMAQ-4 in June 2017 and VMAQ-3 in May 2018.<\/p>\n

\"VMAQ-2

VMAQ-2 – 04\/03\/19 (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Liam Higgins \/ Released)<\/p><\/div>\n

Although time and technology caught up with the Prowler eventually, the EA-6B was continually upgraded during its long career. The first major upgrade was named \u2018expanded capability\u2019 (EXCAP) and this was implemented in 1973. Following EXCAP was ‘improved capability’ (ICAP) in 1976 and then ICAP II in 1980, with the latter providing the EA-6B with improved displays for its crew, updated computers, navigational systems and jammers along with the ability to fire the AGM-88 HARM missile.<\/p>\n

Deliveries of ICAP II aircraft commenced in 1984 and all existing ICAP aircraft were upgraded with the 170th, and final, Prowler being delivered on July 29 1991. In terms of avionics the definitive, ICAP III, EA-6B was equipped with a host of complex and seemingly ever-changing suite of electronics, such as the AN\/ALQ-218 Tactical Jamming System Receiver and AN\/USQ-113 Communications Jamming System. The former is an airborne integrated jamming system, both designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman, and can also be found in the EA-18G Growler and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.<\/p>\n

\"EA-6B

EA-6B – Prowler – VAQ-141 – CVN-71 – Persian Gulf – 01\/06 \u00a9 John Higgins – Global Aviation Resource<\/p><\/div>\n

The last two official Prowler flights were on 12 March 2019 to the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas and 14 March 2019 (the same day as the Tornado GR.4) to the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia.<\/p>\n

The remaining Prowlers are to be stored in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and thus marks the end of a long, successful and distinguished career \u2013 the Prowler prowls no more.<\/p>\n

\"Prowler

Prowler sunset – U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. N.W. Huertas \/ Released<\/p><\/div>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#000000″ _builder_version=”3.21.1″ z_index_tablet=”500″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Units” _builder_version=”3.21.1″ z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n

\n

US Navy Prowler Squadrons (note – unless stated, all these units were based at NAS Whidbey Island, about 30 miles north of Seattle, Washington)<\/strong><\/p>\n

VAQ-128 Fightin’ Phoenix 
VAQ-129 Vikings 
VAQ-130 Zappers 
VAQ-131 Lancers 
VAQ-132 Scorpions
VAQ-133 Wizards 
VAQ-134 Garudas  
VAQ-135 Black Ravens 
VAQ-136 Gauntlets (Based at NAF Atsugi Japan)
VAQ-137 Rooks 
VAQ-137 Rooks 
VAQ-138 Yellowjackets 
VAQ-139 Cougars 
VAQ-140 Patriots
VAQ-141 Shadowhawks 
VAQ-142 Grim Watchdogs 
VAQ-35 Gray Wolves (This relatively short-lived unit was formed mainly with staff from a disbanded unit, namely VAQ-142. They elected to adopt a modified version of the unit’s original badge design while taking on a new nickname, the Gray Wolves. The unit was part of the Fleet Electronic Warfare Support Group)
VAQ-142 Greywolves (This second iteration of VAQ-142 stood up on 1 April 1997. The new unit adopted a slightly modified version of the name taken of VAQ-35, which by then had disbanded, along with the dog insignia from the original VAQ-142 patch.)
VAQ-209 Star Warriors (Based at NAF Washington)
VAQ-309 Axemen <\/p>\n

US Marine Corps Prowler Squadrons (All part of Marine Air Group 14 and based at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n

VMAQ-1 \/ VMAQT-1 Screamin’ Banshees 
VMAQ-2 Playboys \/ Panthers \/ Death Jesters 
VMAQ-3 Moon Dogs 
VMAQ-4 Seahawks <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider color=”#000000″ _builder_version=”3.21.1″ z_index_tablet=”500″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Video header” _builder_version=”3.21.2″ z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n

On 7 December 2013 EA-6B 158811 launched from NAS Whidbey Island on its final flight to its new home at the Pacific Coast Air Museum in Santa Rosa, California.<\/p>\n

On board were three GoPro cameras to capture the flight and the excellent video below was the result.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_video src=”https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=80Eh2nO319M” image_src=”\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/80Eh2nO319M\/hqdefault.jpg” play_icon_color=”#FFFFFF” _builder_version=”3.21.2″ border_radii=”on|2px|2px|2px|2px” border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#000000″ z_index_tablet=”500″][\/et_pb_video][et_pb_divider color=”#000000″ _builder_version=”3.21.1″ z_index_tablet=”500″][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text admin_label=”Gallery and sign-off” _builder_version=”3.21.2″ z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n

Gareth Stringer would like to thank Rick Morgan<\/a><\/span> from the Prowler Association<\/a><\/span><\/span> for his assistance with this feature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coming soon to GAR……….’Prowler from the cockpit’<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prowler in pictures<\/strong><\/h5>\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n

 <\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thursday 14 March 2019 marked not just the final flight of the RAF’s Tornado GR.4, but also that of another hugely successful military aircraft \u2013 the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler. Gareth Stringer looks back on its development and lengthy operational career with the help of some stunning imagery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":109388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

The retirement of the Tornado from RAF service in recent weeks may have over-shadowed, here in the UK at least, the retirement of another hugely successful military aircraft with a lengthy operational career to its name \u2013 the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler. <\/strong><\/p>

Gareth Stringer reports with images as credited.<\/strong><\/p>

On Friday 8 March, VMAQ-2 (US Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 2), part of Marine Aircraft Group 14, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point disbanded. After more than 40 years of service, the EA-6B's career was over.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"EA-6B EA-6B - 158804 - VAQ-133 - USS Kennedy - 12\/75 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

Instantly recognisable, the Prowler is a twin-engine, four-seat, specialist electronic-warfare aircraft and was an advanced development of the two-seat EA-6A, which was itself a variant of the A-6 Intruder all-weather attack aircraft.<\/p>

Essentially a stop-gap until the EA-6B could be developed and produced (only 26 EA-6As entered service) the EA-6A was conceived specifically for the US Marine Corps, to replace the Douglas EF-10B Skyknight. The F-10 Skyknight, previously designated F-3D Skyknight, first flew in 1948 and entered service in 1951 as night fighter and, due to its somewhat rotund appearance, earned itself the nickname \u2018Willie the Whale\u2019. But, appearance aside, the Skyknight downed a number of MiG-15 aircraft in the Korean War and played an important part in the development of the radar guided Sparrow missile as well as an electronic warfare (EW) platform \u2013 the precursor to the Prowler.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"EF-10B EF-10B - 125846 - VMCJ-3 - Davis Monthan AFB - 08\/70 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

The EF-10B variant had proved itself to be a valuable asset in Vietnam and was utilised to jam the SA-2 surface-to-air missile's tracking and guidance systems. Perhaps most notably, on 29 April 1965 Marine Corps squadron VMCJ-1 made history when its EF-10Bs conducted the first ever USMC airborne radar jamming mission in support of an Air Force strike package.<\/p>

The ageing EF-10B would soon be replaced though, with the Marine Corp\u2019s first production EA-6A entering service with VMCJ-2 in December 1965. The aircraft was deployed to Vietnam in October 1966 where it served with VMCJ-1 throughout the conflict. Due to demand for EW services, the EF-10B would eventually remain in theatre until 1969!\u00a0<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"EA-6A EA-6A - 148618 - VMCJ-2 - Cherry Point - 09\/72 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

The EA-6A was equipped with an AN\/ALQ-86 ECM (electronic counter measures) suite and the AN\/APQ-129 fire control radar (EA-6As were very rarely used offensively however), with most of the additional electronics fitted within the walnut-shaped fairing that was mounted on the vertical fin, sometimes called the 'football'. The aircraft carried the ALQ-31 pod that contained a pair of radar jammers but this was soon replaced by the ALQ-76. This pod featured its own RAM (Ram Air Turbine) which allowed it to provide power to no less than four jammers and a typical load-out would see an EA-6A carrying three of the ALQ-76 pods, two chaff dispensers for self defence and pair of fuel tanks. This made it the most effective EW platform of its time and the set-up would form the basis for the EA-6B that followed.\u00a0<\/p>

In Vietnam the EA-6A was dedicated to performing the ECM escort role; namely escorting USMC A-6A Intruders on night time missions as they attacked heavily defended targets deep in North Vietnam. The 'Electric Intruder' (not an official name) was also instrumental in helping to reduce losses of American attack and reconnaissance aircraft to SA-2 surface-to-air missiles and radar controlled AAA (anti aircraft artillery) and provided major support for the Linebacker I and Linebacker II B-52 raids that eventually ended the air war over North Vietnam.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"\u00a9 \u00a9 Rob Edgcumbe - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

The EA-6A was phased out of operational service in the mid-1970s, remaining in use with USMC reserve units and then the United States Navy in specialised VAQ (electronic attack) units, primarily for training purposes. The last EA-6A was retired in 1993.<\/p>

Development of the significantly redesigned and greatly advanced EA-6B Prowler that replaced the EA-6A actually begun back in 1966 with the \u2018new\u2019 aircraft slated to replace both the EA-6A and the US Navy\u2019s EKA-3B Skywarrior. This, like the EF-10B mentioned above, was an EW variant of an existing platform, namely the E-3 Skywarrior or 'the Whale'; the E-3 being the heaviest operational aircraft ever to operate from an aircraft carrier.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"EKA-3B EKA-3B - 142652 -VAQ-135 - Det 2 - Oceana - 09\/72 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

The EA-6B's most obvious external development was that the EA-6A\u2019s forward fuselage was lengthened to create a new area for a much larger cockpit and the result was a four-seat, long-range, all-weather, twin-engine aircraft, designed purely to locate, analyse and jam hostile radar and other electronic systems; clearing the way for allied fighter and attack aircraft by effectively suppressing the enemy\u2019s air defences. A forward equipment bay and pod-shaped fairing on the aircraft's vertical fin housed the additional avionics equipment.<\/p>

Design peculiarities of note were a canted refuelling probe and a gold-shaded canopy to protect the crew (one pilot and three Electronic Countermeasures Officers) against radio emissions from the aircraft\u2019s powerful electronic warfare equipment.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"\u00a9 \u00a9 Rob Edgcumbe - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

Later in the Prowler's life, if an enemy radar warranted something a little more powerful than electronic suppression, the Prowler\u2019s crew could utilise the aircraft\u2019s AGM-88 HARM (High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile), designed to home in on radar signals and destroy transmitters at source. The Prowler was also capable of and used for gathering electronic intelligence in a war zone.<\/p>

Measuring sixty feet (17.7 m) in length with a wingspan of 53 ft (15.9 m), the EA-6B was powered by two non-afterburning Pratt & Whitney J52 engines with a top speed of approx 600 mph and a published range of 1,140 miles, or almost 2,500 miles if fitted with drop tanks. A grand total of 170 EA-6B aircraft were manufactured from 1966 through 1991 and the Prowler flew more than 260,000 hours on operations with the US Marine Corps alone, having been involved in every major US combat operation since 1977.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"\u00a9 \u00a9 Rob Edgcumbe - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

The US Navy's Fleet Replacement Squadron VAQ-129 brought the EA-6B into service in September 1970 and the first operational squadron was Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 132 (VAQ-132), in July 1971. VAQ-132 deployed to Vietnam on the USS America some 11 months later and was soon followed by VAQ-131 on USS Enterprise and VAQ-134 on USS Constellation.<\/p>

The Prowler would go on to serve with distinction, for both the US Navy and USMC, frequently in support of USAF combat operations, first in Vietnam and then in Grenada, Libya (Operation El Dorado Canyon in 1986) and Operation Desert Storm (Gulf War 1 \u2013 1990 \/ 1991). During the latter, 39 EA-6B Prowlers were involved with 27 operating from six aircraft carriers and 12 from land-based USMC bases. Flying some 4,600 flight hours, Prowlers fired over 150 HARM missiles across 1,132 US Navy sorties and 516 USMC sorties, with no losses.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"EA-6B EA-6B - 158800 - VAQ-138 - USS Kennedy - 12\/80 \u00a9 Lindsay Peacock - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

Since the retirement of the EF-111 in 1998, and until the first EA-18G Growler unit was declared operational in 2009, the Prowler was actually the only dedicated EW platform in service with the US armed forces. In 2001 a total of 124 Prowlers remained and these were divided between twelve US Navy, four USMC and four joint Navy-US Air Force 'Expeditionary' squadrons. It had been a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) staff study that had recommended the retirement of the EF-111 Raven in order to cut down on the types of aircraft in service that were dedicated to the same mission. This in turn led to a memorandum from the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the four land based 'expeditionary' Prowler squadrons were formed to meet the EW needs of the US Air Force.<\/p>

For several years the Prowler was used to counter improvised explosive devices in Afghanistan and Iraq and it has also been reported, although never confirmed by the Department of Defense, that an EA-6B was used to suppress radar while assisting the two Black Hawks and two Chinooks that raided Osama Bin Laden's Pakistan compound in Operation Neptune Spear.<\/p>[caption id=\"\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"1024\"]\"\u00a9 \u00a9 Rob Edgcumbe - Global Aviation Resource[\/caption]

Prowler missions against the so-called Islamic State commenced over Iraq in June 2014 with VMAQ-3 and when Operation Inherent Resolve (the US's operational name for the military intervention against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) began in August, VMAQ-4 took over. The Prowlers were the first Marine Corps aircraft to operate in Syria and by January 2015 the aircraft of VMAQ-4 had flown 800 hours (110 sorties) in support of operations in both countries.<\/p>

In April 2016 Prowlers were deployed to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey for operations over Syria and the EA-6Bs of VMAQ-2 finally completed the aircraft\u2019s last operational deployment in November 2018. The aircraft had already completed its last US Navy tour, late in 2014, and had been withdrawn from Naval service in June 2015, while the Marines had begun drawing down its squadrons ahead of the aircraft\u2019s planned retirement in 2019. That draw-down commenced with the deactivation of the Marine Tactical Electronic Warfare Training Squadron in 2016 and this was followed by VMAQ-4 in June 2017 and VMAQ-3 in May 2018.<\/p>

Although time and technology caught up with the Prowler eventually, much like the Tornado, the EA-6B was continually upgraded during its long career. The first major upgrade was named \u2018expanded capability\u2019 (EXCAP) and this was implemented in 1973. Following EXCAP was 'improved capability' (ICAP) in 1976 and then ICAP II in 1980, with the latter providing the EA-6B with improved displays for its crew, updated computers, navigational systems and jammers and a data link system along with the ability to fire the AGM-88 HARM missile. Deliveries of ICAP II aircraft commenced in 1984 and all existing ICAP aircraft were upgraded with the 170th, and final, Prowler being delivered on July 29 1991.<\/p>

In terms of avionics, the EA-6B was equipped with a host of complex and seemingly ever-changing suite of electronics, such as the AN\/ALQ-218 Tactical Jamming System Receiver and AN\/USQ-113 Communications Jamming System. The former is an airborne integrated jamming system, both designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman, and can also be found in the EA-18G Growler and P-8 Poseidon aircraft.<\/p>

The last two official Prowler flights were on 12 March 2019 to the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas and 14 March 2019 (the same day as the Tornado GR4!) to the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia. The remaining Prowlers are to be stored in the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and thus marks the end of a long, successful and distinguished career \u2013 the Prowler prowls no more.<\/p>[ngg src=\"galleries\" ids=\"1039\" display=\"basic_thumbnail\" number_of_columns=\"3\" display_view=\"default\"]