The Grumman A-6 Intruder was designed as the replacement of the A-1 Skyraider.It's the first all-weather attack aircraft of the US Navy.The aircraft were called as the A2F before 1962 and got the new name,the A-6 Intruder,in service.The outstanding all-weather capability soon made the A-6 the main strike force of the Navy and Marines,and devoted into the Vietnam War.
The A-6E is the last production type of the Intruder family.They were developed for the strike missions.A new AN/APQ-148 radar replaced the old version one and the DIANE system were replaced by the lastest computer system.In the late 1970s,the new navigation system called CAINS were equipped,the CAINS A-6E can be distinguished by the extra air scoop on top of the fuselage near the vertical stabilizer.
Start at 1979,all of the A-6E Intruders were armed with the AN/ASS-33 detection and ranging set,which a part of the TRAM system.They were located inside a small turret under the radome.The A-6E TRAM participated in most of the military actions of the Navy in last century.All of the Intruders were replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in 1997.
