EA-6B Prowler: The Electronic Warfare Aircraft That Never Ceased To Impress – SlashGear

The story of the Prowler begins with its value as an electronic attack aircraft. The airplane was introduced early on in the course of the Vietnam War, and eventually became the U.S. military’s “foremost electronic attack platform,” according to the U.S. National Naval Aviation Museum.

This aircraft served as the first purpose-built electronic warfare system in the arsenal of the U.S. military. Rather than coming as a reconfiguration of existing technology that could provide a stopgap, the Prowler was intricately constructed to perform this task with precision and ease. A Prowler in active service would have been armed with up to four AGM-88 HARM missiles and as many as five ALQ-99F jamming pods, supported by over 30 individual detection antennae. HARM missiles are anti-radiation weapons that explode over enemy radar systems and devastate the ability to scramble an effective defense. As for purely electronic weaponry, the jamming pods are used to identify enemy communications equipment, radar systems, and other vessels. The Prowler’s crew would then utilize the equipment to knock out detection capabilities, communication channels, and guidance systems to render enemy combatants unable to keep pace with American operations in the air and elsewhere.

More recent improvements include a revamp of the cockpit’s informational readout, enhanced enemy jamming capabilities, and a boosted threat detection platform for even greater enemy identification abilities. The Prowler system is run on two Pratt & Whitney J52-P-408 turbojets, allowing the aircraft to reach a maximum speed of 610 miles per hour over a 2,400-mile range, and a 38,000-foot altitude ceiling.