GRUMMAN EA-6B PROWLER

TYPE:

• Four-seat carrierborne Command and Control Warfare (C²W) aircraft.

PROGRAMME

• Development contract issued autumn 1966.
• Structural design similar to the A-6 with longer nose enclosing four-seat cockpit and large pod on fin.
• First flight May 25 1968.
• Delivery of first 12 production aircrafts started in January 1971, with the last 170 delivered on July 29 1991.

VERSIONS:

PROTOTYPES

• 5 aircrafts built.

ADVCAP

• Advanced Capability (ADVCAP).
• First ADVCAP flight was on October 29, 1989.
• Three prototypes were built and tested with completion of full-scale development, yet due to budget constraints the programme was discontinued in 1994, prior to low-rate initial production.
• ADVCAP includes:
• Newly developed Receiver-Processor Group (RPG) for the tactical jamming system.
• Dual AYK-14 XN-8 VHSIC computers.
• An AN/ALQ-149 communications countermeasures system.
• An ID Electronic Countermeasures Officer (ECMO) suite in the right front seat.
• AN/ARN-118 TACAN.
• Two additional AN/ALE-chaff dispensers.
• GPS and disc-based onboard loader/recorder.
• Activation of two additional pylon stations outboard of the wing folds.
• J52-P-409 turbojets and vehicle enhancements for improved aerodynamics with the Navy Standard Automatic Flight Control System (SAFES).

EXCAP

• Expanded capability aircrafts.
• 25 built.

ICAP-I

• Improved Capability variant (ICAP-I).
• All aircrafts updated to ICAP-2, with 45 newly built aircrafts and 21 production EA-6B modified to ICAP-1 and all production aircraft to 1983 built to this standard.
• Modifications included:
• Increased jamming capacity.
• Seven-band onboard tactical jamming system.
• Reduced response time and multiformat display.
• Automatic All-weather Carrier Landing System (ACLS).
• New defensive ECM.
• New Communications-Navigation-Identification (CNI) system.

ICAP-II

• First flight of prototype on June 24, 1980.
• Introduced further improved jamming capacity, now the standard variant.
• Earlier aircrafts also modified to the same standard.
• Universal exciter in each of five external jamming pods can generate signals in one of seven different frequency bands.
• instead of one and each pod can jam in two frequency bands simultaneously.

ICAP-III

• Further upgrade to ensure that the EA-6B can counter threats until 2015.
• Core of ICAP-III upgrade is the updating of the AIL AN/ALQ-99 tactical noise jamming system with a fully integrated reactive receiver.
• ICAP-III variant will also have sufficient open architecture to provide for continued incremental upgrades including a satellite communications receiver.

STRUCTURE:

• Wings as for A-6E but reinforced to allow for greater gross weight, fatique life and a 5.5 g load factor.
• Fuselage as for A-6E but lengthened by 1.37 m (4 ft 6 in).

POWER PLANT:

• Two Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408 turbojets, each rated at 49.8 kN (11,200 lb st).
• ADVCAP retrofitted with 53.38 kN (12,000 lb st) J52-P-409 engines.

ACCOMMODATION:

• Crew of four under two separate upware-opening canopies.
• Martin-Baker GRUEA 7 ejection seats for crew.
• Two additional crewmen are ECM Officers to operate the ALQ-99 equipment from the rear cockpit.
• Either ECMO can independently detect, assign, adjust and monitor the jammers.
• The ECMO in the starboard front seat is responsible for communications, navigation defensive ECM and chaff dispending.

AVIONICS:

• AN/ALQ-99F tactical jamming system in five integrally powered pods with a total of 10 jamming transmitters.
• Each pod covers one of seven frequency bands.
• Sensitive surveillance receivers in the fintop pod for long-range detection of radars.
• Emitter information is fed to a central digital computer (AN/AYK-14 in ICAP-2 aircrafts) that processes the signals for display and recording.
• Detection, identification, direction-finding and jammer set-on sequence can be performed automatically or with manual assistance from crew.
• PRB Associates AN/TSQ-142 tactical mission support system.
• Teledyne Systems AN/ASN-123 navigation system with digital display group.

ARMAMENT:

• Originally unarmed, but currently capable of carrying Texas Instruments AGM-88A HARM anti-radar missiles underwing.
• Four underwing hardpoints on ICAP-2 aircraft, six on ADVCAP EA-6B.

DIMENSIONS:
Wingspan:	7.87 m	25 ft 10 in
Wing area:	49.13 m2	528.9 sq ft
Length overall:	18.24 m	59 ft 10 in
Height overall:	4.95 m	16 ft 3 in
Wheelbase:	5.23 m	17 ft 2 in
WEIGHTS AND LOADINGS:
Weight empty:	14,321 kg	31,572 lb
Internal fuel load:	6,995 kg	15,422 lb
Max external fuel load:	4,547 kg	10,025 lb
T-O weight:
From carrier (5 ECM pods):	24,668 kg	54,383 lb
From field (max internal/external fuel):	27,236 kg	60,045 lb
Max T-O weight, catapult or field:	29,483	65,000 lb
Max wing loading:	600.5 kg/m2	123 lb/sq ft
PERFORMANCE:
(A: clean, B: 5 ECM pods)
Never-exceed speed:	710 kt	1,315 km/h; 817 mph
Max level speed at S/L:
A:	566 kt	1,048 km/h; 651 mph
B:	530 kt	982 km/h; 610 mph
Cruising speed at optimum altitude:
A,B:	418 kt	774 km/h; 481 mph
Max rate of climb at S/L:
A:	3,932 m/min	12,900 ft/min
B:	3,057 m/min	10,030 ft/min
Service ceiling:
A:	12,550 m	41,200 ft
B:	11,580 m	38,000 ft
Range with max external load: B:	955 n miles	1,769 km; 1,099 miles
Ferry range with max external fuel:
Tanks retained:	1,756 n mile	3,254 km; 2,022 miles
Tanks jettisoned when empty:	2,085 n miles	3,861 km; 2,399 miles

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