A-6E Intruder

The A-6E is an all-weather, two-seat, subsonic, carrier-based attack aircraft. In spite of its weight, it has excellent slow-flying capabilities with full span slats and flaps. The crew, sitting side by side, can see in all directions through a broad canopy.

The aircraft is equipped with a micro-miniaturized digital computer, a solid state weapons release system, and a single integrated track and search radar. The Intruder is armed with laser-guided weapons and equipped with a chin turret containing a forward-looking infra-red (FLIR) system and laser designator and receiver.

The A-6 worked around the clock in Vietnam, conducting attacks on the targets with a pinpoint accuracy unavailable through any other aircraft at that time.The A-6E proved once again that it is the best all-weather precision bomber in the world in the joint strike on Libyan terrorist-related targets in 1986. Navy A-6E Intruders and Air Force FB-111s penetrated the sophisticated Libyan air defense systems, which had been alerted by the high level of diplomatic tension and by rumors of impending attacks. Evading more than 100 guided missiles, the strike force flew at low levels in complete darkness and hit its target. A-6 aircraft were used extensively during Operation Desert Storm, providing precision bombing on a wide range of targets. The night and all-weather attack capabilities enabled the A-6 to neutralize anti-aircraft batteries and attack well- protected tactical targets with minimum casualties. The precision munitions used by the A-6 provided exact targeting of targets in a complex environment.

A new stealth (A-12) developed by the Navy was supposed to replace the Intruder, but funding was cancelled as a result of funding cuts. Iraq has no comparable fighter because Iraq has no carriers to base the carrier aircraft, but the closest non-carrier craft would be the Mirage F-1 and the SU-24. The A-6 can be used in night time and day raids. The built -in electronic radar and infared targeting systems help to guide the multiple armaments. The Navy deployed 95 and the marines deployed 20. 4'045 sorties were flown by the Navy craft and 854 by the land based Marine craft during the Middle East conflict; five were shot down.

In the early 1990s Intruders were rewinged with a composite wing replacement. The new wing replaces an older metal wing that over the years began to show cracks due to age and metal fatigue.

Sources:

National Museum of the USAF

The Encyclopedia of 20th Century Air Warfare, edited by Chris Bishop, 2001, Aerospace Publishing