iscover
One of the most important aircraft on any US Navy carrier is the Grumman EA-68. The EA-6B Prowler is one of the most expensive aircraft on any carrier yet its value is such that no strike force would enter hostile territory without its presence foiling enemy communications and motoring systems. Electronics are similar to that of the USAF EF-111A. (Grumman).
Wild Weasels
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In the earliest days of aerial warfare, the penetration of enemy defences was basically a matter of timing and tactics. Reconnaissance aircraft and machines armed with lightweight bombs would cross the battle lines at the highest possible speed, often making use of marginal lighting conditions or clouds, or hugging the ground to minimise the chance of interception and the time of exposure to ground fire.
As aircraft instruments and navigation progressed, bombers were able to make use of night operations in attacks on large targets such as cities and ports. Virtually complete immunity was achieved: unless the aircraft could be detected by searchlights, they could not be intercepted or fired on.
One of the most important aircraft on any US Navy carrier is the Grumman EA-68. The EA-6B Prowler is one of the most expensive aircraft on any carrier yet its value is such that no strike force would enter hostile territory without its presence foiling enemy communications and motoring systems. Electronics are similar to that of the USAF EF-111A (Grumman). The advent of radar brought an end to the supremacy of the manned bomber, although low-level penetration has managed to retain some value, pending the availability of airborne early-warning aircraft. Coupled with fantastic advances in the effectiveness of missile defences, ground-based search radars and AEW aircraft can now produce such high attrition of incoming aircraft that the cost-effectiveness of what may be termed the manned penetrator is open to question.
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