The EA-6B Prowler is the primary tactical jamming aircraft of the US Navy, US Air Force and the US Marine Corps. The Prowler first entered service in the 1970s and has demonstrated its battlefield performance in Southeast Asia, in Operation Desert Storm, in Bosnia-Herzegovina and in Kosovo, enforcing the northern no-fly zone over Iraq and in Operation Iraqi Freedom.The USN has a fleet of 124 Prowlers which equip USN aircraft carriers, forward land bases and the US Marine Corps squadrons.The aircraft were to be retired and replaced by the EA-18G Growler, an electronic attack version of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, by 2012. Their service has, however, been extended beyond 2014.In November 2008, the VAQ 132 electronic attack squadron held a ‘final flight’ ceremony for the Prowler, to mark the beginning of the squadron’s transition to the EA-18G Growler.The mission of the aircraft is to accompany the strike forces and to carry out armed reconnaissance, electronic warfare and jamming operations. The Prowler is carried on all classes of the US Aircraft Carrier fleet: Enterprise, Nimitz, Kitty Hawk and John F Kennedy. The primary naval role is to protect the US or allied carrier group and aircraft by countering hostile radar and by jamming enemy communications. The Prowler also carries out electronic surveillance tasks and provides defence against incoming anti-ship missiles..EA-6B cockpitThe aircraft is crewed by a pilot and three electronic countermeasures officers. The forward section of the cockpit accommodates the pilot on the port side and one ECM officer station equipped with the communications, navigation systems, and the defensive electronic countermeasures including the decoy dispensers. The rear cockpit accommodates two ECM officers and the ALQ-99 control and display stations.Prowler weaponsThe Prowler is armed with the Raytheon HARM high-speed anti-radiation missile, AGM-88. The HARM missile is used against land-based and seaborne radar-directed air defence artillery systems and surface-to-air missile systems. HARM has a range of over 90km (80 miles).USMC Prowlers are fitted with the Northrop Grumman Litening AT targeting pod, for deployment in Iraq. The first was completed in 2007..CountermeasuresThe ALQ-99 is an extremely comprehensive tactical jammer, operating over a wide range of overlapping frequency bands including Band 1 (VHF) to Band 10 (Ku). The ALQ-99 development was sponsored by the US Navy and Air Force.Several contractors have been involved in the development and production of the system. AIL Systems, prime contractors, developed the exciter and encoders; AEL Defense Corporation developed Band 9 and Band 10 transmitters; and Northrop Grumman (formerly Litton Systems), prime contractors for the ALQ-99E, developed transmitters and exciters. The current version is the ALQ-99F.The Prowler carries five ALQ-99 pods, two under each wing and one under the fuselage. Each pod houses two powerful Continuous Wave (CW) transmitters which use beam steering to direct the jamming signal at the threat. An exciter in the pod tailors the parameters of the jamming signal. Each pod has a control computer linked to the ALQ-99 central processing unit on the aircraft.The Central Processing Unit (CPU) processes the received threat signals, manages jamming operations and generates data for display to the crew. Prior to the mission, data on the characteristics of emitters possibly deployed by the hostile forces are downloaded into the threat library in the CPU.The CPU compares the parameters of detected threat signals with the threat library using signal matching algorithms. Threats are identified, located, prioritised and the CPU recommends the action to be taken to counter the threat, or can automatically steer the transmissions to the target location and initiate the jamming sequence.The receivers are configured to provide the Prowler with 360° coverage. Blister fairings on both sides of the tail fin house the receiver antennae for bands 1 and 2 (VHF and VHF/UHF). The fin top blister fairing houses higher frequency receive antennae systems..Read the Latest Agriculture News in Marathi & Watch Agriculture videos on Agrowon. Get the Latest Farming Updates on Market Intelligence, Market updates, Bazar Bhav, Animal Care, Weather Updates and Farmer Success Stories in Marathi.
