AN/ALQ-99

The AN/ALQ-99 system on EA-6B Prowler Aircraft. EA-6B in foreground carries 3 under-wing jamming pods for transmitting and a single fixed pod on its tail for receiving.

The AN/ALQ-99 is an airborne electronic warfare system, found on EA-6B and EA-18G military aircraft. The ALQ-99E version of the system was carried on the EF-111A Raven aircraft as an escort or standoff jammer.

Description[]

The ALQ-99 is an airborne integrated jamming system designed and manufactured by EDO Corporation. Receiver equipment and antennas are mounted in a fin-tip pod while jamming transmitters and exciter equipment are located in under-wing pods. The system is capable of intercepting, automatically processing and jamming received radio frequency signals.^[1] The system receivers can also be used to detect, identify and direction find those signals, providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) either automatically or manually.^[2]

EF-111A Raven in the foreground carrying a fixed tail pod for receiving and a fixed transmitting pod on underside. Note that while the EA-6B carries removable transmitter pods, the EF-111 has the transmitter built into the underside of the aircraft.

The AN/ALQ-99 was mounted on the U.S. Navy's and U.S. Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler aircraft and U.S. Navy's EA-18G Growler aircraft. It was mounted on U.S. Air Force's EF-111A Raven aircraft before these aircraft were retired from service by May 1998. The U.S. Navy's EA-6B Prowler were Retired from Active service following deployment in 2015.

The AN/ALQ-99 has a maximum power output of 10.8 kW in its older versions and of 6.8 kW in its newer versions.^[3] It uses a ram air turbine to supply its own power.

History[]

Tail fin housing assembly for the AN/ALQ-99 equipment, seen during an EF-111A conversion

The AN/ALQ-99 has been used during the Vietnam War (1972–1973), Operation El Dorado Canyon (1986 American raid in Libya), 1991 Gulf War, Operation Northern Watch (1992–2003), Operation Southern Watch (1997–2003), 1999 Balkans War, 2003 Second Gulf War, and 2011 Operation Odyssey Dawn. The poor reliability of the ALQ-99 and frequent failures of the Built-In Test (BIT) have caused crew to fly missions with undetected faults; the ALQ-99 also interferes with the aircraft's AESA radar, reduces the top speed of the aircraft and imposes a high workload on the two-man crew when employed in the EA-18G Growler.^[4]

Versions[]

AN/ALQ-99E – the version mounted on EF-111A aircraft. It has a 70% commonality with the U.S. Navy's AN/ALQ-99 systems.

References[]

^ EDO Corporation EA-6B Page Archived 17 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
^ The Warfighter's encyclopedia Archived 12 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine. EA-6B Prowler Archived 5 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Cooling Requirements for the Advanced Ram Air Driven Power and Cooling Unit (ARADPCU) on the EA-18G Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
^ "GAO-10-388SP, Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs, March 30, 2010". Retrieved 15 February 2012.

External links[]

The Anatomy of the Tacjammer
Advanced Ram Air Driven Power and Cooling Unit (for ALQ-99 and nextgen equipment)
EDO Corp – Manufacturer of components of the ALQ-99 system
Harris Corporation acquired EDO in 2016

[1] EDO Corporation EA-6B Page Archived 17 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.

[2] The Warfighter's encyclopedia Archived 12 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine. EA-6B Prowler Archived 5 November 2004 at the Wayback Machine.

[3] Cooling Requirements for the Advanced Ram Air Driven Power and Cooling Unit (ARADPCU) on the EA-18G Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.

[4] "GAO-10-388SP, Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Selected Weapon Programs, March 30, 2010". Retrieved 15 February 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t United States Air Force system numbers
100–199	100 101 P 102 103 104 105 106¹ 107 A-1 A-2 108¹ 109¹ 110 111¹ 112 113¹ 114¹ 115¹ 116¹ 117 M 118 A 119 C/F E T Y 120 121 122 123 124 125 127¹ 129 131 132 133 134¹ 136¹ 137¹ 138 139 140 141¹ 142 143–197¹ 199 B C D
200–299	200 201 A/L B/W E 202 203¹ 204 205 206 207¹ 208 209¹ 210 211¹ 213 214 215¹ 216 217 218 219¹ 220 221 222 A 223¹ 224 225¹ 226 227–238¹ 239 240–278¹ 279 280–298¹
300–399	300 301¹ 302 303 304¹ 305¹ 306 A/L B 307 308 309 310¹ 311¹ 312¹ 313¹ 314 315 A-1 A-2 316 318¹ 319 320¹ 321 322¹ 324 L M/N 326 327 E 328 E 329 F 330¹ 331¹ 332¹ 333¹ 334¹ 335 336 337 338–379¹ 380 A/B/E/F/N P 381–397¹ 399
400–499	400 B/C/N E G/H M 401 402 403¹ 405 406¹ 408¹ 409¹ 410 E 411 E L 413 414 416 L M (I) 418 419¹ 420 L/W 421¹ 422 423 424 425 426 L 427 L 428 L 429 431 434 435 L 436 441 A L 442 443 444¹ 445 446 447 448¹ 449¹ 450 451 L 452 453 454¹ 457¹ 460 L 462 463 464 465 468 471 L (I) L (II) 474 L N 475¹ 476 E 477 478 A 479¹ 481 L 482 E M/Z 484 485 Z 487 488 490 491¹ 493 494 495 496 497 L 498 C E L 499
500–599	501–519¹ 521–529¹ 531–541¹ 543–549¹ 550 551–559¹ 560 561–569¹ 571–579¹ 580 581–589¹ 591 593–599¹
600–699	601 A 602 A 603 A 605 606 607 608¹ 609 610¹ 611¹ 612¹ 613¹ 615¹ 616 617¹ 619¹ 620 621 A/B (I) 622 624 626¹ 628¹ 629¹ 630¹ 631¹ 634 A B 636¹ 637¹ 638 641 644¹ 645¹ 646¹ 647¹ 648 A P 649 P 653¹ 654¹ 655 656 657¹ 658¹ 659¹ 662¹ 663¹ 665 666 669¹ 671¹ 672 673¹ 676¹ 677¹ 678¹ 681 682¹ 683 A V 684¹ 687 P 688¹ 689¹ 691 C Z 692¹ 693 694¹ 695 A B C L N P Q R S (I) S (II) 696¹ 697¹ 698¹ 699¹
700–799	700–735¹ 737¹ 738¹ 739¹ 740¹ 742 743 744¹ 745 746–753¹ 755–799¹
800–899	800¹ 801¹ 802 803¹ 804¹ 805¹ 807 808–816¹ 818¹ 819¹ 820¹ 821¹ 822¹ 824–831¹ 832 833¹ 834 835–845¹ 847–899¹
900–999	900–951¹ 952 853¹ 854¹ 855¹ 956 957–967¹
¹ Unknown or not assigned

AN/ALQ-99

Contents

Description[]

History[]

Versions[]

See also[]

Related ECMs[]

References[]

External links[]