The Patriots of VAQ-140 Deploy the EA-6B Prowler for the Final Time

By: Mike Heilman and Ed Wells

An EA-6B landing aboard the USS Eisenhower. VAQ-140 will be transitioning to the EA-18G at the end of the squadrons deployment in the Fall of 2012. (Mike Heilman) In the Spring of 2012 the Patriots of VAQ-140 will deploy on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower with the EA-6B Prowler for the final time. The squadron has started initial work-ups for the 2012 deployment.   When VAQ-140 returns from the deployment they will transition to the new EA-18G Growler but the squadron is not ready to let the aging Prowler go just yet.

The EA-6B Prowler entered the fleet in 1971. The Electronic Countermeasures Squadron VAQ-140 has been flying the EA-6B since 1985.  The squadron is stationed at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington. 

Lt. Chris Familetti of VAQ-140 describes how he feels about the EA-6B, “It is not the sexiest jet out there, but it is still a great jet to fly into combat with. It has proven itself over the years.”  Familetti, an Electronic Countermeasures Officer or ECMOS (Eck-moe), flew combat missions in Libya, but will be making his first carrier deployment in the Prowler. 

The flight deck of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower during Carrier Air Wing Seven initial workups before the Spring 2012 deployment. It will be the last deployment for the wing’s EA-6B squadron “Prowler” aircraft. (Mike Heilman)The Patriots recently returned from a three-month detachment to Italy. During that time they flew combat missions over Libya in support of operation “Unified Protector.”    The missions were long, but satisfying according to Executive Officer (XO) Joe Martinez, “The missions could last seven or eight hours.  We would spend about three hours on station. It was long missions, but the strikers wanted to know if we were [EA-6B] on station before they went into Libya feet dry.  The Prowler is a high demand, high tempo jet.” 

XO Martinez is scheduled to take over command in 2012 of the Patriots during the transition from the EA-6B to the EA-18G, but he says the squadron is already in transition to the Growler. “We are one of the last squadrons to go to the Growler, but we are transitioning right now.  Almost all the bugs have been worked out of the transition process. It is streamlined now.”

A F/A-18E and EA-6B on the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower. The F/A-18G will replace the EA-6B after the Eisenhower’s deployment in 2012. (Mike Heilman)Transitioning to the Growler will take about nine months for the pilots and aircrew to complete according to Martinez. “We will be able to fly at level two, nine months after going to Fleet Replacement Squadron VAQ-129.  That means will be able to fly the F/A-18 safely without being fully in the dynamic environment.  We will not use all the weapon systems fully until we fly a few detachments, then we will be completely qualified.”

The EA-6B crew includes a pilot and three ECMOS.  The EA-18G will have a crew of two.  The workload will change according to Martinez, “The pilot can see the same stuff we see in the EA-6B, but he cannot employ the weapons system. That will change when we go to the Growler, the pilot will have to deploy the weapons.  The good thing now is there are crew operation procedures that tell how the workload is dispersed within the cockpit to get the same mission done.”

An EA-6B landing aboard the USS Eisenhower. (Mike Heilman )Martinez explains that change will not affect the size of the squadron, “This has been coming down the pipe for a while, so our squadron size right now is manned at the same level as a Growler squadron. The reason for that is that we get one extra jet. We will have five EA-18s instead of the current four EA-6Bs we have now. We have been cutting down the number of ECMOS, but we have the same amount of pilots.” 

The change in the crew mix has had an effect on the workload of the officers in the squadron according to Martinez. He explains, “It has increased the workload of our officers, while our requirements tactically have not decreased. The junior officers have to do more than what I had to do when I started in my first squadron, but these guys are rising to the occasion and they are making it happen.”

The maintenance department of VAQ-140 is performing an engine change on a EA-6B in the hanger bay of the USS Eisenhower. The engine change took 16 hours to complete. (Mike Heilman)CW05 Daryl Hagemann Maintenance Material Control Officer for VAQ-140 spent three years on the fleet induction team for EA-18G transition team at Whidbey Island explains, “When we first started the transition process the concept of the Growler was out there, then we had to work all the manpower pieces for all of the squadrons transitioning over to the ‘G.’ It was a daunting task to figure out the maintenance man hours required for the EA-18G.”

When VAQ-140 returns from the 2012 cruise, Hagemann explains the training process for the maintenance team, “When they get back from cruise VAQ-140 will start sending people to training for six months. It is a pretty big task when you take a maintenance department of 162 people and you have to train 140 of them.”

XO Martinez, who has 2,300 hours and almost 420 traps in Prowler, expressed mixed emotions about the transition to the Growler, “There is nothing like flying this jet and sitting next to somebody. The last two nights I have been flying with one of our new pilots for his fleet landings on a carrier. Sitting next to somebody you can tell them, ‘hey we got this.’  It is a lot different when there are two separate cockpits.  I am going to miss that,” he added.

The EA-6B has been in service for more than 40 years, it has become difficult to maintain the remaining aircraft in the squadron.  The average maintenance man-hours per flight-hour for the Prowler is around 70 hours.  That improves dramatically with EA-18G to an average of 12 maintenance hours per flight hour.

Martinez explains, “Our troops do a great job and are very dedicated.  They are really working very hard to make sure we are executing our mission, but it is very taxing on them.  The transition will be better from that aspect for our troops.”

The Growler will have four sister squadrons of fighter aircraft that are part of the F/A-18 family on the aircraft carrier.  The EA-18G has 99 percent in common with other F/A-18 models.  Spare parts will be easier to get with the Growler than with the aging EA-6B. 

The EA-6B has no self-defense weapons, but that will change with the EA-18G.  The Growler will be able to defend itself and carryout the electronic countermeasures mission.  The Growler can carry a mix of electronic warfare pods and weapons on the eleven weapon stations.             

The advantages of the EA-18G are clear, but despite the improvements the crew and maintainers still love the old workhorse of the fleet.  CW05 Hagemann has been in the Navy almost 30 years and has worked with the EA-6B for ten years. He said,  “The EA-6B is a very strong community. To this day the old-timers love the EA-6B.   It has been a great jet.  I have taken it to combat and it is a proven performer.  There are not a lot of EA-6Bs out there, but it is in high demand.  When we are not on station people know it. We don’t go into bad guy country without the Prowler.  I hate to see it go.”