$73.25M to Upgrade EA-6B Prowlers with ALQ-218 Jamming Pods

We had to bomb Vietnamflying through 10″ of rain…(click to view full) We couldn’t resist this bit of writing from Military.com SoldierTech’s EA-18G description, covering the existing EA-6B Prowler tactical jamming aircraft: “The aging Prowler has been in service for 40 years — and it shows — the Prowler is unable to keep up with newer strike aircraft. Chugging along at .72 Mach, it is significantly slower than the fleet aircraft it’s meant to protect, like an elderly grandfather on Halloween escorting trick-or-treaters on a sugar high.” Well, chug a few espresso, grandpa, because until the EA-18Gs show up, you’re the only tactical jamming aircraft America has got. Make that $73.25 million worth of espresso, via an FY 2006 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. in Bethpage, N.Y. for AN/ALQ-218 Tactical Jamming System Receivers. How many does that cover? What do those do? EA-18G Growler(click to view full) The contract covers full rate production (LOT II) of four complete AN/ALQ-218 Tactical Jamming System Receivers (TJSRs). In addition, this contract provides for the procurement of one partial AN/ALQ-218 system and spares. This purchase is the second lot of Improved Capability (ICAP) III systems bought by the Navy. The […]