The last A-6 Intruders were decommissioned in February, removing one of the US Navy's most successful and certainly its most capable attack aircraft. It will be replaced by a mix of F/A-18s, both the older C/D and newer E/F versions, and the F-14, which has been given an A-weather air-to-ground capability. Entering service in 1965 during the Vietnam War, the strength of the Intruder was its tremendous bombload, coupled with an advanced sensor suite that allowed it to operate in all weather conditions. In addition to the age of the aircraft and cost of maintaining its older systems, the special capabilities it possessed are now less "Special." Both versions of the Hornet will carry the same all-weather sensors, and bombload is not as important today in an age of precision-guided munitions. It was slow, and it was definitely not stealthy. Its long range will be missed, though. Single-seat aircraft will also be less able to handle the heavy workload of an all-weather attack mission. Its long range also made it useful as a carrier-launched tanker. Originally, the A-6F, a third-generation version of the Intruder, was to be deployed while the stealthy A-12 Avenger was developed. The A-6F was then cancelled because of the A-12's rising costs, then the A-12 was canceled in its own cost overrun scandal, leaving US Naval aviation with no planned replacement for its aging attack aircraft. Now the Navy is pinning its hopes on the stealthy joint Strike Fighter, which will probably appear in the first decade of the next century. USS Carl Vinson had the honor of carrying the last Intruder squadron (VA-165, the Boomers, out of Whidbey Island) on deployment. After they are removed from service they will be scrapped. BT Back to The Naval Sitrep #12 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com