A-6E Intruder
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The Intruder was developed in response to a U.S. Navy specification for an all-weather carrier-based
attack aircraft to serve as a replacement for the piston-powered, World War II-era A-1 Skyraider.
Grumman was awarded the contract in 1957, and the resulting A2F-1 made its first flight on April
19, 1960. The jet nozzles were originally designed to swivel downwards, but this was dropped from
production aircraft. The pilot sits in the left seat, while the bombardier/ navigator sits to the right and
below. A unique CRT gives a synthetic display of terrain ahead which, with the additional crew
member, enabled low-level flying in all weather conditions. The wing is very efficient at subsonic
speeds compared to supersonic fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II, which are also limited to
subsonic speeds when carrying a paylod of iron bombs. A very similar wing would be put on pivots on
Grumman's later supersonic swing-wing F-14 Tomcat, as well as similar landing gear.
The Intruder received a new standardized DOD designation of A-6A in the fall of 1962, and entered
squadron service in February 1963. The A-6 became the USN and USMC's principal medium and
all-weather/night attack aircraft from the mid-1960s through the 1990s and as an aerial tanker either in the
dedicated KA-6D version or by use of a buddy store. This role was served in the USAF by the F-105
Thunderchief and later F-111 which was also later converted to a radar jammer as the EF-111 Raven. The
A-6 first saw combat in Vietnam and in later engagements in Lebanon and Libya. The Intruder saw further
duty during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, as well as over Bosnia in 1994, but it was phased out of
service quickly in the mid-1990s in a Navy move to reduce the Type/Model/Series aircraft in the carrier
airwing. It was intended for replacement by the A-12 Avenger II, but that program was canceled. The
Intruder was left to soldier on for a few more years before retiring in favor of the LANTIRN equipped F-14
Tomcat, which was in turn replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Many questioned the shift to a shorter
ranged strike force compared to the older generation planes, the availability of USAF tanking assets in all
recent conflicts put a lesser premium on self contained range.
The last Intruders were retired 28 February 1997. A number of retired A-6 airframes were sunk off the
coast of St. Johns County, Florida to form a fish haven entitled Intruder Reef. However, contrary to popular
belief, surviving aircraft fitted with the new wings were stored at the AMARC storage center at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and not sunk as artificial reefs. Although the Intruder could not match the
F/A-18's speed or air-combat capability, the A-6's range and load-carrying ability are still unmatched by
newer aircraft in the fleet.
attack aircraft to serve as a replacement for the piston-powered, World War II-era A-1 Skyraider.
Grumman was awarded the contract in 1957, and the resulting A2F-1 made its first flight on April
19, 1960. The jet nozzles were originally designed to swivel downwards, but this was dropped from
production aircraft. The pilot sits in the left seat, while the bombardier/ navigator sits to the right and
below. A unique CRT gives a synthetic display of terrain ahead which, with the additional crew
member, enabled low-level flying in all weather conditions. The wing is very efficient at subsonic
speeds compared to supersonic fighters such as the F-4 Phantom II, which are also limited to
subsonic speeds when carrying a paylod of iron bombs. A very similar wing would be put on pivots on
Grumman's later supersonic swing-wing F-14 Tomcat, as well as similar landing gear.
The Intruder received a new standardized DOD designation of A-6A in the fall of 1962, and entered
squadron service in February 1963. The A-6 became the USN and USMC's principal medium and
all-weather/night attack aircraft from the mid-1960s through the 1990s and as an aerial tanker either in the
dedicated KA-6D version or by use of a buddy store. This role was served in the USAF by the F-105
Thunderchief and later F-111 which was also later converted to a radar jammer as the EF-111 Raven. The
A-6 first saw combat in Vietnam and in later engagements in Lebanon and Libya. The Intruder saw further
duty during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, as well as over Bosnia in 1994, but it was phased out of
service quickly in the mid-1990s in a Navy move to reduce the Type/Model/Series aircraft in the carrier
airwing. It was intended for replacement by the A-12 Avenger II, but that program was canceled. The
Intruder was left to soldier on for a few more years before retiring in favor of the LANTIRN equipped F-14
Tomcat, which was in turn replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. Many questioned the shift to a shorter
ranged strike force compared to the older generation planes, the availability of USAF tanking assets in all
recent conflicts put a lesser premium on self contained range.
The last Intruders were retired 28 February 1997. A number of retired A-6 airframes were sunk off the
coast of St. Johns County, Florida to form a fish haven entitled Intruder Reef. However, contrary to popular
belief, surviving aircraft fitted with the new wings were stored at the AMARC storage center at
Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and not sunk as artificial reefs. Although the Intruder could not match the
F/A-18's speed or air-combat capability, the A-6's range and load-carrying ability are still unmatched by
newer aircraft in the fleet.
A-6E
The definitive attack version of the Intruder, introduced in 1970, with its first deployment, 9 December
1971, with vastly upgraded navigation and attack systems. The original search and track radars of the
A-6A were replaced by a single Norden AN/APQ-148 multi-mode radar, and the onboard computers
with a more sophisticated (and generally more reliable) IC based system, as opposed to the A-6A's
DIANE discrete transistor-based technology. A new AN/ASN-92 inertial navigation system was
added, along with the CAINS (Carrier Aircraft Intertial Navigation System), for greater navigation
accuracy.
Beginning in 1979, all A-6Es were fitted with the AN/AAS-33 DRS (Detecting and Ranging Set), part
of the "Target Recognition and Attack Multi-Sensor" (TRAM) system, a small, gyroscopically stabilized
turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing a FLIR boresighted with a laser
spot-tracker/designator and IBM System/4 Pi computer. TRAM was matched with a new Norden
AN/APQ-156 radar. The BN could use both TRAM imagery and radar data for extremely accurate
attacks, or use the TRAM sensors alone to attack without using the Intruder's radar (which might warn
the target). TRAM also allowed the Intruder to autonomously designate and drop laser-guided bombs.
In addition, the Intruder used AMTI (Airborne Moving Target Indicator) which allowed the aircraft to
track a moving target (such as a tank or truck) and drop ordnance on him even though the target was
moving. Also, the computer system allowed the use of Offset Aim Point (OAP), giving the crew the
ability to drop on a target unseen on radar by noting coordinates of a known target nearby and entering
the offset range and bearing to the unseen target.
In the early 1990s some surviving A-6Es were upgraded under SWIP (Systems/Weapons
Improvement Program) to enable them to use the latest precision-guided munitions, including AGM-65
Mavericks, AGM-84 Harpoons, AGM-84E SLAMs, AGM-62 Walleyes and the AGM-88 HARM
anti-radiation missile. After a series of wing-fatigue problems, about 85% of the fleet was fitted with
new graphite/epoxy/titanium/aluminum composite wings.
A-6E models totaled 445 aircraft, about 240 of which were converted from earlier A-6A/B/C models.
The definitive attack version of the Intruder, introduced in 1970, with its first deployment, 9 December
1971, with vastly upgraded navigation and attack systems. The original search and track radars of the
A-6A were replaced by a single Norden AN/APQ-148 multi-mode radar, and the onboard computers
with a more sophisticated (and generally more reliable) IC based system, as opposed to the A-6A's
DIANE discrete transistor-based technology. A new AN/ASN-92 inertial navigation system was
added, along with the CAINS (Carrier Aircraft Intertial Navigation System), for greater navigation
accuracy.
Beginning in 1979, all A-6Es were fitted with the AN/AAS-33 DRS (Detecting and Ranging Set), part
of the "Target Recognition and Attack Multi-Sensor" (TRAM) system, a small, gyroscopically stabilized
turret, mounted under the nose of the aircraft, containing a FLIR boresighted with a laser
spot-tracker/designator and IBM System/4 Pi computer. TRAM was matched with a new Norden
AN/APQ-156 radar. The BN could use both TRAM imagery and radar data for extremely accurate
attacks, or use the TRAM sensors alone to attack without using the Intruder's radar (which might warn
the target). TRAM also allowed the Intruder to autonomously designate and drop laser-guided bombs.
In addition, the Intruder used AMTI (Airborne Moving Target Indicator) which allowed the aircraft to
track a moving target (such as a tank or truck) and drop ordnance on him even though the target was
moving. Also, the computer system allowed the use of Offset Aim Point (OAP), giving the crew the
ability to drop on a target unseen on radar by noting coordinates of a known target nearby and entering
the offset range and bearing to the unseen target.
In the early 1990s some surviving A-6Es were upgraded under SWIP (Systems/Weapons
Improvement Program) to enable them to use the latest precision-guided munitions, including AGM-65
Mavericks, AGM-84 Harpoons, AGM-84E SLAMs, AGM-62 Walleyes and the AGM-88 HARM
anti-radiation missile. After a series of wing-fatigue problems, about 85% of the fleet was fitted with
new graphite/epoxy/titanium/aluminum composite wings.
A-6E models totaled 445 aircraft, about 240 of which were converted from earlier A-6A/B/C models.
