Several contractors have been involved in the development and production of the system. The ALQ-99 development was sponsored by the US Navy and Air Force. The ALQ-99 is an extremely comprehensive tactical jammer, operating over a wide range of overlapping frequency bands including Band 1 (VHF) to Band 10 (Ku). вЂњThe EA-6B Prowler is the primary tactical jamming aircraft of the US Navy, US Air Force and the US Marine Corps.вЂќ Countermeasures HARM has a range of over 90km (80 miles). The HARM missile is used against land-based and seaborne radar-directed air defence artillery systems and surface-to-air missile systems. The Prowler is armed with the Raytheon HARM high-speed anti-radiation missile, AGM-88. The rear cockpit accommodates two ECM officers and the ALQ-99 control and display stations. The forward section of the cockpit accommodates the pilot on the port side and one ECM officer station equipped with the communications, navigation systems, and the defensive electronic countermeasures including the decoy dispensers. The aircraft is crewed by a pilot and three electronic countermeasures officers. The Prowler also carries out electronic surveillance tasks and provides defence against incoming anti-ship missiles.

The primary naval role is to protect the US or allied carrier group and aircraft by countering hostile radar and by jamming enemy communications.

The Prowler is carried on all classes of the US Aircraft Carrier fleet: Enterprise, Nimitz, Kitty Hawk and John F Kennedy. The mission of the aircraft is to accompany the strike forces and to carry out armed reconnaissance, electronic warfare and jamming operations. In November 2008, the VAQ 132 electronic attack squadron held a вЂfinal flightвЂ™ ceremony for the Prowler, to mark the beginning of the squadronвЂ™s transition to the EA-18G Growler. Their service has, however, been extended beyond 2014. The aircraft were to be retired and replaced by the EA-18G Growler, an electronic attack version of the F/A-18 Super Hornet, by 2012.

Ecm jammer