Why the A-6 Intruder Is Still the Best Navy Attack Plane to Grace the Deck of a US Carrier

A-6 Intruders would have been able to deliver far more ordnance for far less cost than the multirole planes we have instead employed.

A U.S. Navy A-6 Intruder on the display at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York City, in a file photo. NYC Russ/Shutterstock

Commentary

The A-6 Intruder’s last combat missions were flown over Bosnia in 1994, and it was formally retired in 1997. During Operation Desert Storm, Navy A-6E aircraft flew 5,619 sorties striking 2,617 targets. Included in these sorties were 221 air defense suppression attacks using high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARM).