Jumat, 16 Januari 2009

Grumann A-6E Intruder

Grumann A-6E Intruder

posted by Jiri Wagner

Designed in the late 1950s, the A-6 is an all-weather long-range carrierborne attack aircraft able to operate by day or night. The first of six YA-2F1 prototypes flew on April 19, 1960 with the first of 482 production A-6As being delivered to the US Navy beginning in 1963. The Intruder played a large role in the Vietnam war, flying over 35,000 combat sorties by 1973.

The definitive version is the A-6E which includes an APQ-148 multi-mode Doppler radar with terrain mapping and track-while-scan capabilities. Included beneath the nose radome is a laser spot tracker and laser ranger and designator. All A-6Es in service are due to be retired by the year 2000.

General characteristics
Primary function	carrierborne attack aircraft
Contractor	Grumann Aerospace Corp.
Power plant	Two Pratt & Whitney J52-P-8B non-afterburning turbojets
Thrust	2x 9,300 lb	2x 41.3 kN
Wingspan	53 ft	16.15 m
Length	54 ft 9 in	16.69 m
Height	16 ft 2 in	4.93 m
Wingarea	528.8 ft q.	49.13 m q.
Max. takeoff weight	58,600 lb	26,580 kg
Initial climb rate	127 ft/s	38.7 m/s
Ceiling	47,500 ft	14,480 m
Max. speed	648 mph	1,043 km/h
Range	1,815 miles	2,920 km
Armament	Up to 18,000 lb including free-fall bombs, AGM-65 Maverick ASMs, AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles, AGM-84E SLAMs, AGM-88 HARMs, or four drop tanks
Crew	Two