The most important Navy-Marine Corps contribution to the air war over Yugoslavia—Operation Allied Force—probably was the EA-6B Prowler electronic attack aircraft. Navy and Marine Prowlers provided protection for allied strike and other air missions during the conflict, seeking out hostile radar emissions and, when detected, jamming them.
Of 19 active and reserve Navy and Marine Corps squadrons—each with four aircraft—10 1/2 squadrons were forward deployed during the Kosovo campaign (the half squadron being a two-plane detachment from reserve squadron VAQ-209). At the height of the air campaign, six squadrons were flying from Aviano, Italy, in support of Allied Force and two squadrons were on board carriers. Two squadrons—one flying from Saudi Arabia, and one flying from a base in Turkey—were participating in the enforcement of no-fly zones over southern and northern Iraq, respectively. In addition, a Marine Prowler squadron was ashore in Japan, to support possible allied air operations against North Korea.
The Prowler is the only fixed-wing electronic countermeasures (ECM)/electronic attack (VAQ) aircraft in the U.S. arsenal. The last U.S. Air Force aircraft in this category, the EF-IIIA Raven, was phased out of service on 2 May 1998. With the EF-IIIA retirement, Navy and Marine Prowler squadrons took over that role for all military services. The Prowler is slower than the EF- 11 IA, but carries the same basic detection/jamming equipment, and has the advantage of three electronic warfare officers (instead of one) and can launch AGM88 HARM antiradar missiles (the EF-111 A was unarmed).
To meet the expanded ECM requirements, the Navy has formed four land-based Prowler squadrons to supplement the ten carrier-based VAQ squadrons. Each has the equivalent of one Air Force crew—a pilot and three ECM officers—with other Air Force personnel on their staffs. The four squadrons were formed specifically to provide ECM support to overseas landbased air operations.
The Marine Corps has four Prowler squadrons, which normally provide one squadron on rotation to Iwakuni, Japan, to support operations by the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing. But as required, the Marine squadrons have flown from Aviano in support of air operations over Yugoslavia; from bases in the Middle East; and from carriers when a Navy VAQ squadron was not available for forward deployment.
The single Naval Air Reserve Prowler unit—VAQ-209—like much of the air reserve force, carries out operational deployments. During Allied Force, the squadron deployed two aircraft and crews to Aviano.
There also is a single fleet readiness-transition training squadron-VAQ-129-that prepares pilots and ECM officers from the Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force for flying the Prowler. VAQ-129 is based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, the home of all active Navy Prowler squadrons except for VAQ-136, which is based in Japan as part of Carrier Air Wing 5 on board the carrier Kitty Hawk (CV-63). The reserve squadron is based at Naval Air Facility Andrews, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., and the four Marine VMAQ squadrons are based at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina.
The massive Prowler deployment in the spring of 1999 exceeded the deployment plan for VAQ/VMAQ aircraft. Under current assumptions, the ten carrier squadrons could support "three-plus" deployed carriers, and the nine land-based squadrons (i.e., four Navy, one Naval Reserve, and four Marine) could provide three squadrons based ashore in forward areas.
The 70-day air war over Yugoslavia stretched the force to the limit. At one point, there were 26 Prowlers in that theater. All strike operations, even those by the B-2 Lancer and F-l 17 stealth aircraft and those by B-52 Strato-fortress bombers launching stand-off cruise missiles, required ECM support—as did tactical strike, reconnaissance, and search-and-rescue operations.
Following that hectic period, the VAQ/VMAQ force has cut back operations, reducing personnel and operating tempo to rehabilitate air crews and aircraft. The intensive operations demonstrated the continuing demand for ECM operations and have caused Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force planners to reexamine their plans for future ECM support of air operations.
There currently are 123 Prowlers in the Navy-Marine Corps inventory, with 93 assigned to squadrons. The others are employed in research and development activities, and are in the "pipeline" being overhauled and upgraded. The Prowler—which entered service in 1971—has undergone numerous ECM equipment and aircraft systems upgrades since the last one was delivered in 1991. It currently is receiving safety/maintenance and communication upgrades.
Northrop Grumman—successor to the Grumman Corp., which built the Prowler—has been selected for the next major upgrade program, known as ICAP (Improved Capability) III. Eight aircraft per year are scheduled to be modified, with the first group entering service in fiscal year 2004. ICAP III will provide new antennas, receivers, processors, and software for the ECM systems. These changes will enable the Prowlers to cue strike aircraft on a near-real-time basis as they approach a target, and transmit target coordinates to surveillance aircraft.
With upgrades, the Navy-Marine Corps Prowler force is expected to fly in the ECM role at least until about 2015. Thus, the question is what platform will succeed the Prowler. An analysis of alternatives (AOA) study is being planned, with the Navy as the lead service. The Army—as well as the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps—is interested in the next-generation ECM/electronic attack aircraft. It currently flies the EH-60 Quick Fix variant of the ubiquitous Blackhawk helicopter in the ECM role, but for some operations, such as long-range helicopter assaults, the Army requires the support of more capable ECM/electronic attack platforms.
Because of the long lead time required for development of a specialized ECM platform, the AOA should be initiated soon, and should address a broad range of possible platforms, among them conventional (manned) aircraft, satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or some combination.
With respect to conventional aircraft, the options appear to center on two planes, the Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle and the Navy-Marine Corps F/A-18F Hornet. Both are two-seaters, a requirement for such aircraft. Production of the Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F-15E is coming to an end, and the Boeing F/A-18F is now in production for the Marine Corps. These are high-performance aircraft, and with modifications they could carry ECM pods as well as HARM-type weapons. In addition, they are supportable because of the large numbers of the basic types in service.
Two other Air Force planes are potential but unlikely candidates. The Lockheed Martin F-16 is basically a single-seat aircraft—although a two-seat variant is in service—but it has much less payload than the F-15E. The Lockheed Martin F-22, also single-seat, has a limited payload and probably will be too expensive for the specialized electronic role. However, the F/A-18F Hornet has the advantage of being both carrier based and land based, the former a major factor if the Navy is to have a successor to the EA-6B. And the F/A-18F is in production.
Discussions with individuals involved in electronic warfare issues indicate a belief that a manned ECM/electronic attack aircraft will be the most likely successor to the Prowler, but in combination with other platforms—most likely UAVs or satellites, or both. Until the follow-on system is selected, developed, and produced, the EA-6B Prowler will continue as a vital component of U.S. military operations.