A-6E Intruder

“The Mighty Alpha Six”

The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace that was operated by the U.S. Navy.

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The A-6 was developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s in response to a requirement issued by the United States Navy for an all-weather jet-powered carrier-based attack aircraft. It was designed as a successor for multiple existing medium-sized attack aircraft, such as the piston-engined Douglas A-1 Skyraider. Unlike its predecessors, and even some contemporaries, the A-6 made extensive use of interconnected avionics. Operated by a crew of two in a side-by-side seating configuration, the workload was divided between the pilot and weapons officer. In addition to conventional munitions, the type was also compatible with the Navy’s air-based nuclear weapons, which were deployable via a toss bombing techniques. On 19 April 1960, the prototype performed the type’s maiden flight.

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The A-6 was in service with the United States Navy and Marine Corps between 1963 and 1997, multiple variants of the type being introduced during this time. From the A-6, a specialized electronic warfare derivative, the EA-6B Prowler, was developed. It was deployed during various overseas conflicts, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. The A-6 was intended to be superseded by the McDonnell Douglas A-12 Avenger II, but this program was ultimately canceled due to cost overruns. Thus, when the A-6E was scheduled for retirement, its precision strike mission was initially taken over by the Grumman F-14 Tomcat equipped with a LANTIRN pod.

Armament:

• Hardpoints: Five hardpoints with a capacity of 3,600 lb (1,600 kg) each (4 under wings, 1 under fuselage), 18,000 lb (8,200 kg) total,with provisions to carry combinations of:

• Rockets:
  12x LAU-10 4-round 5 inch Zuni pods
  12x LAU-68 7-round 2.75 inch FFAR pods
  12x LAU-61/LAU-68 19-round 2.75 inch FFAR pods

• Missiles:
  AGM-45 Shrike anti-radar missile
  AGM-78 Standard ARM anti-radar missile
  AGM-62 Walleye TV-guided glide bomb
  AGM-65 Maverick air-to-ground missile
  AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missile/AGM-84E Standoff Land Attack Missile
  AGM-88 HARM anti-radar missile
  AGM-123 Skipper air-to-ground missile
  AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missile
  ADM-141 TALD decoy missiles

• Bombs:
  28× Mk 82 500 lb (227 kg) GP bombs or Mk 20 Rockeye II cluster bomb
  13× Mk 83 1,000 lb (454 kg) GP bombs
  5× Mk 84 2,000 lb (907 kg) GP bombs
  5x GBU-12/16/10 laser-guided bombs
  5x CBU-72 Fuel-Air Explosives
  Up to three B43/B57/B61 “Special Weapons”

• Other:
  Mk 60 Captor Mine
  Up to 5 300 US gal (250 imp gal; 1,100 L) drop tanks
  Various practice stores, chaff launchers, baggage pods, flares