Jane’s Defence Weekly
July 7, 1999

Radar-Jamming Prowlers Played Big Role In The Balkans

Intensive operations involving US Navy (USN) and US Marine Corps (USMC) EA-6B Prowlers during Operation 'Allied Force' led to the regular shipment of vital spare parts needed to keep the radar-jamming aircraft aloft. NATO planners of 'Allied Force' relied heavily on the Prowlers for jamming enemy radar systems and preventing Serb forces from tracking ­ and firing at ­ attacking aircraft.

The EA-6B was also used to jam radar systems used by surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft batteries.

Despite transferring a handful of Prowlers from Turkey to Serbia in early March, service officials stretched their resources to enable the aircraft to continue leading missions deep into enemy airspace.

"We were sending huge amounts of spare parts [to the Balkan region]", a USN official told Jane's Defence Weekly, adding that the service also forward-deployed as many intermediate maintenance personnel as possible.

More than 40 of the USA's active fleet of around 95 Prowlers were assigned to the Balkan region during the height of 'Allied Force', with most of its remaining platforms assigned to aircraft carriers or supporting Operation 'Northern Watch' against Iraq.

The navy deployed a total of 26 Prowlers in support of 'Allied Force', with only 39 pilots during the 11-week campaign. The aircraft often logged eight-hour sorties "with several hits off the [refuelling] tankers," according to the USN official. "They'd escort one strike package in, [then] break away and link up with another."

Washington is in the process of expanding its EA-6B fleet to 123 aircraft. Some 104 platforms will remain available at any one time. Deliveries of 20 aircraft undergoing upgrade to Block 89 standard by Northrop Grumman are continuing, with the USN expected to receive the last one in mid-2000 (Jane's Defence Weekly 20 January).

Service officials stressed that the Prowlers have not lost any of their life expectancy because of the demands of frequent operations, adding that their missions typically involved flying in a straight line at high altitude, and often at night.

"We were flying the airplanes hard, but they weren't ageing any faster," a USN official observed. "While [pilots] put a lot of hours on the planes, they didn't do a lot of bending or stretching" manoeuvres with the aircraft.

-- Greg Seigle, JDW Staff Reporter