Editing Grumman A-6 Intruder (section)

==Design==
[[File:A-6E VA-34 landing on USS America (CV-66) 1983.JPEG|thumb|An A-6E landing on the aircraft carrier [[USS America (CV-66)]], showing the split airbrakes on the tips of its left wing]]

The Grumman A-6 Intruder is a two-seat twin-engined monoplane, equipped to perform carrier-based attack missions regardless of prevailing weather or light conditions.<ref name = "bomber 209"/> The cockpit used an unusual double pane windscreen and [[side-by-side seating]] arrangement in which the pilot sat in the left seat, while the bombardier/navigator (BN) sat to the right and slightly below to give the pilot an adequate view on that side. In addition to a radar display for the BN, a unique instrumentation feature for the pilot was a cathode ray tube screen that was known as the Vertical Display Indicator (VDI). This display provided a synthetic representation of the world in front of the aircraft, along with steering cues provided by the BN, enabling head-down navigation and attack at night and in all weather conditions.<ref name="Andrews"/>

The A-6's wing was relatively efficient at subsonic speeds, particularly when compared to supersonic fighters such as the [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]], which are also limited to subsonic speeds when carrying a payload of bombs. The wing was also designed to provide a favorable level of maneuverability even while carrying a sizable bomb load. A very similar wing would be put on pivots on Grumman's later supersonic [[swing-wing]] Grumman F-14 Tomcat, as well as similar landing gear.<ref>Gunston and Spick 1983, {{page needed|date=December 2019}}</ref>

For its day, the Intruder had sophisticated [[avionics]], with a high degree of integration.<ref name = "bomber 209"/> To aid in identifying and isolating equipment malfunctions, the aircraft was provided with automatic diagnostic systems, some of the earliest computer-based analytic equipment developed for aircraft. These were known as Basic Automated Checkout Equipment, or BACE (pronounced "base"). There were two levels, known as "Line BACE" to identify specific malfunctioning systems in the aircraft, while in the hangar or on the flight line; and "Shop BACE", to exercise and analyze individual malfunctioning systems in the maintenance shop. This equipment was manufactured by [[Litton Industries]]. Together, the BACE systems greatly reduced the Maintenance Man-Hours per Flight Hour, a key index of the cost and effort needed to keep military aircraft operating.{{citation needed|date=August 2011}}

The Intruder was equipped to carry nuclear weapons ([[B43 nuclear bomb|B43]], [[B57 nuclear bomb|B57]], [[B61 nuclear bomb|B61]]) which would have been delivered using semi-automated [[toss bombing]].