On Saturday, June 27, the longest serving carrier-based aircraft in history passed that electronic attack baton to its successor, the EA-18G Growler, with a ceremonial final take-off and flyaway from its longtime home base. It was the culmination of a two-day event honoring the legendary aircraft.
Several hundred current and former naval aviators, support personnel, aerospace leaders and aviation enthusiasts gathered on a lawn overlooking the tarmac that afternoon to help turn this page in aviation history.
The departure of the last Navy Prowler from Whidbey Island, noted McMahon, does not mark the end of the Prowler's service to the U.S. military. The U.S. Marines, who have operated the aircraft since 1977, plan to keep flying the jet from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina through 2019.
Northrop Grumman is the principal subcontractor to The Boeing Company in producing the EA-18G Growler, which entered service in 2009. The company produces the aircraft's primary electronic warfare subsystems at its Bethpage Electronic Attack Center of Excellence, and provides mission systems software maintenance and support services for the jet.
The company also produces the Growler's center/aft fuselage section, twin vertical tails and integrates all associated subsystems at its El Segundo (California) Manufacturing Center.
The final Navy EA-6B fly-away culminated three days of Northrop Grumman-sponsored "Prowler Sunset" festivities at NAS Whidbey Island that included a Navy Prowler memorial ceremony, a public Prowler-themed base open house and exhibition, and much more. The weekend events were organized and produced by the Whidbey Roost Chapter of the Association of Old Crows.
The EA-6B Prowler is a long range, all-weather electronic attack aircraft originally derived from the A-6 Intruder aircraft. Its primary mission is to detect, identify and disrupt enemy air defense radar system and related communications systems in support of airstrikes.
Between 1966 and 1991, 170 EA-6Bs rolled off Northrop Grumman's aircraft assembly line in Calverton, New York. The first EA-6B entered service at NAS Whidbey Island in January 1971 and deployed to Vietnam in 1972.
Over the years, the Prowler has been operated by the Navy and the Marines, in combat zones that included Vietnam in the 1970s, Grenada and Libya in the 1980s, Kosovo and Iraq in the 1990s, and Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria during the first two decades of this century.
