The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, a specialized
version of the two-seat F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G will replace the Northrop Grumman
EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. The Growler's electronic warfare
capability is primarily provided by Northrop Grumman. The EA-18G began production in 2007
and entered operational service in late 2009.
Development
Requirement and testing
On 15 November 2001, Boeing successfully completed an initial flight demonstration of F/A-18F
"F-1" fitted with the ALQ-99 electronic-warfare system to serve as the EA-18 Airborne Electronic
Attack concept aircraft. In December 2003, the US Navy awarded a development contract
for the EA-18G to Boeing. As primary contractor, Boeing was to construct the forward fuselage,
wings and perform the final assembly. Northrup Grumman was the principal airframe subcontractor
and they would supply the center and aft fuselage as well as the principal electronic combat
system. In 2003, the Navy expected to receive 90 EA-18Gs.
The first EA-18G test aircraft entered production on 22 October 2004. The first test aircraft,
known as EA-1, was rolled out on 3 August 2006, before making its maiden flight at St.
Louis on 15 August 2006; it was later ferried to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland
on 22 September 2006. EA-1 primarily supports ground testing in the Air Combat Environment
Test and Evaluation Facility anechoic chamber. The second aircraft first flew on 10 November
2006, and was delivered to NAS Patuxent River on 29 November 2006. EA-2 is an AEA flight
test aircraft, initially flying on Pax River's Atlantic Test Range for developmental test
of the AEA system before transitioning to the Electronic Combat Range in Naval Air Weapons
Station China Lake in California. Both aircraft are assigned to VX-23 "Salty Dogs". EA-1 and
EA-2 are F/A-18Fs F-134 and F-135, pulled from the St. Louis production line and modified
by Boeing to the EA-18G configuration. However, since they were not built initially as Growlers,
the Navy has designated these two test aircraft as NEA-18Gs. There were five Growlers flying
in the flight test program as of June 2008. Procurement
In an April 2006 report, the U.S. Government Accountability Office expressed concerns.
The GAO felt the electronic warfare systems on the EA-18G were not fully mature so there
is risk of "future cost growth and schedule delays". The report recommended that the DoD
consider purchasing additional ICAP III upgrades for EA-6Bs to fill any current and near-term
capability gaps and restructure the initial EA-18G production plans so that procurement
takes place after the aircraft has "demonstrated full functionality". In a 2008 GAO report,
the director of the DoD's Operational Test and Evaluation department questioned the workload
on the two-person Growler crew to replace the Prowler's crew of four.
The U.S Navy has ordered a total of 57 aircraft to replace its existing EA-6B Prowlers in
service, all of which will be based at NAS Whidbey Island save for Reserve Squadron VAQ-209
based at NAF Washington, MD. The US DoD gave approval for the EA-18G program to begin low-rate
initial production in 2007. The EA-18G was scheduled to finish flight testing in 2008.
The Navy planned to buy approximately 85 aircraft in 2008. Approval for full-rate production
was expected in the third quarter of 2009, and was given on 23 November 2009. Boeing
planned to ramp up production to 20 aircraft per year. On 9 July 2009, General James Cartwright
told the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services that the choice had been to
continue the F/A-18 production line because the war fighting commanders needed more aerial
electronic warfare capability that only the EA-18G could provide.
The Navy's submission for the 2011 defense budget put forth by the Obama Administration
calls for four EA-18G Growler squadrons to be added to the fleet. On 14 May 2010, Boeing
and the US Department of Defense reached an agreement for a multi-year contract for an
additional 66 FFs and 58 EA-18Gs over the next four years. This will raise the total
to 114 EA-18Gs on order. The Pentagon’s Director of Operational Test
and Evaluation determined that the EA-18G was "still not operationally suitable" in
February 2011. Prime contractor Boeing is working to address issues with software updates.
In December 2011, Operational Test and Evaluation concluded that the EA-18G software was "operationally
effective and suitable". Design
The Growler's flight performance is similar to that of the FF. This attribute enables
the Growler to perform escort jamming as well as the traditional standoff jamming mission.
Growlers will be able to accompany F/A-18s during all phases of an attack mission. In
order to give the Growler more stable flight for the electronic warfare mission, Boeing
changed the leading edge fairings and wing fold hinge fairings, and added wing fences
and aileron "tripper strips". The Growler has more than 90% in common with
the standard Super Hornet, sharing airframe, Raytheon AN/APG-79 AESA radar and weapon systems
such as the AN/AYK-22 stores management system. Most of the dedicated airborne electronic
attack equipment is mounted in the space that used to house the internal 20 mm cannon and
on the wingtips. Nine weapons stations remain free to provide for additional weapons or
jamming pods. The added electronics include AN/ALQ-218 wideband receivers on the wingtips,
and ALQ-99 high and low-band tactical jamming pods. The ALQ-218 combined with the ALQ-99
form a full spectrum electronic warfare suite that is able to provide detection and jamming
against all known surface-to-air threats. However the current pods will be inadequate
against emerging threats. The EA-18G can be fitted with up to five ALQ-99
jamming pods and will typically add two AIM-120 AMRAAM or AGM-88 HARM missiles. The EA-18G
will also use the INCANS Interference Cancellation system that will allow voice communication
while jamming enemy communications, a capability not available on the EA-6B. In addition to
the radar warning and jamming equipment the Growler possesses a communications receiver
and jamming system that will provide suppression and electronic attack against airborne communication
threats. The poor reliability of the ALQ-99 jammer
pod and frequent failures of the Built In Test have caused crew to fly missions with
undetected faults. The ALQ-99 has also interfered with the aircraft's AESA radar, and has imposed
a high workload on the two-man crew, along with reducing the Growler's top speed.
Boeing is looking into other potential upgrades; the ALQ-99 radar jamming pod may be replaced
in the future, and the company is looking into adding weapons and replacing the satellite
communications receiver. The Growler is the initial platform for the Next Generation Jammer
which uses Active Electronically Scanned Array technology to focus jamming power exactly
where needed. The NGJ was to be implemented on the F-35. However, in May 2012, the U.S.
Navy decided to focus NGJ integration on the EA-18G for an expected in-service date of
2020, and defer work for the F-35. Boeing is also looking at exporting a Growler Lite
configuration without the jamming pods for electronic awareness rather than electronic
attack. Three Growlers networked together can generate
targeting tracks for hostile radio-frequency sources in real time, but this is difficult
to arrange with the current minimum strength US Navy squadrons.
Operational history United States
The first Growler for fleet use was officially accepted by VAQ-129 "Vikings" at NAS Whidbey
Island, on 3 June 2008. The Navy planned to buy approximately 85 aircraft to equip 11
squadrons as of 2008. The EA-18G completed operational evaluation in late July 2009.
The Growler was rated operationally effective and suitable for operational use. On 5 August
2009, EA-18G Growlers from Electronic Attack Squadron 129 and Electronic Attack Squadron
132 completed their first at-sea carrier-arrested landing aboard the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75).
The first deployable EA-18G squadron is to be VAQ-132 "Scorpions", which reached operational
status in October 2009. The first Growler operational deployment was announced on 17
February 2011.
In service, the EA-18's radio name during flight operations will be "Grizzly". The "Growler"
nickname sounded too much like the EA-6B's "Prowler" name, so "Grizzly" will be used
to avoid confusion. With the termination of the EB-52H standoff jammer, the Growler will
become the sole remaining manned tactical jammer and Air Staff requirements director
Maj. Gen. David Scott has indicated that the USAF will seek to provide electronic warfare
officers to fly on US Navy Growlers, without providing funding to purchase additional aircraft.
By May 2011, 48 Growlers had been delivered to the U.S. Navy.
The EA-18G was first used in combat during Operation Odyssey Dawn, enforcing the UN no-fly
zone over Libya. Five EA-18Gs were redeployed from Iraq to support operations in Libya.
Australia In 2008 the Australian Government requested
export approval from the US government to purchase up to six EA-18Gs, which would be
part of the order for 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets. On 27 February 2009, Defence Minister Joel
Fitzgibbon announced that 12 of the 24 Super Hornets on order would be wired on the production
line for future fit-out as EA-18Gs. The additional wiring would cost A$35 million. The final
decision on conversion to EA-18Gs, at a cost of A$300 million, was to be announced in
March 2012. On 23 August 2012, the Australian Government
announced that 12 RAAF Super Hornets would be fitted with Growler capability at a cost
of $1.5 billion; making the Royal Australian Air Force the only military other than the
U.S. to operate the Growler's electronic jamming equipment.
On 3 May 2013, the Australian Government announced that it will buy 12 new-build Growlers to
supplement the existing Super Hornet fleet. No. 6 Squadron RAAF is expected to begin taking
delivery of the Growlers in 2017. Operators
United States United States Air Force
390th Electronic Combat Squadron provides training for electronic warfare officers for
Navy units.
United States Navy VAQ-129
VAQ-130 VAQ-132
VAQ-133 VAQ-135
VAQ-136 VAQ-137
VAQ-138 VAQ-139
VAQ-141 VAQ-209
VX-9 Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center
Specifications Data from Boeing brochure, U.S. Navy FF fact
file General characteristics
Crew: Two Length: 60 ft 1.25 in
Wingspan: 44 ft 8.5 in Height: 16 ft
Wing area: 500 ft² Empty weight: 33,094 lb
Loaded weight: 48,000 lb ; recovery weight Max. takeoff weight: 66,000 lb
Powerplant: 2 × General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans
Dry thrust: 14,000 lbf each Thrust with afterburner: 22,000 lbf each
Internal fuel capacity: 13,940 lb External fuel capacity:: 9,774 lb
Performance Maximum speed: Mach 1.8 at 40,000 ft
Range: 1,275 nmi ; clean plus two AIM-9s Combat radius: 390 nmi ; for interdiction
mission Ferry range: 1,800 nmi ; range without ordnance
Service ceiling: >50,000 ft Wing loading: 92.8 lb/ft²
Thrust/weight: 0.93 Armament
Guns: None Hardpoints: 9 total: 6× under-wing, and 3×
under-fuselage with a capacity of 17,750 lb external fuel and ordnance
Notes: The two wingtips missile launcher rail for AIM-9 Sidewinder, found on the E/F Super
Hornet, have been replaced with AN/ALQ-218 detection pods, six removable under wing mounted
hard points, two multi-mode conformal fuselage stations, 1 centerline fuselage removable
hardpoint, for AN/ALQ-99 Low Band Jamming Pod.
Weapons employment: Currently, Phase I of the Growler will carry the AIM-120 AMRAAM
missiles for self-protection at the two conformal fuselage stations and AGM-88 HARM missiles.
The A/A-49A-2 gun system with the 20 mm M61A2 cannon has been removed and replaced by a
pod of electronic boxes that control the AN/ALQ-218 and assist with the coordination AN/ALQ-99
jamming attacks. According to the possible weapon configurations
which were revealed, EA-18G would also be capable of performing "time-sensitive" strike
missions, carrying AGM-154 JSOW under wings, or multi-sensor reconnaissance missions with
SHARP and AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR on centerline and left conformal weapon stations, respectively.
Avionics Raytheon AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned
Array radar Mnemonics, Inc 990-1119-001 Electronic Attack
Unit AES Mission Computer See also
Related development McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
Boeing FF Super Hornet Aircraft of comparable role, configuration
and era Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler
General Dynamics/Grumman EF-111A Raven Related lists
List of active United States military aircraft List of fighter aircraft
References Notes
Bibliography
External links Official webpage of the Boeing EA-18G Growler
EA-18G profile at GlobalSecurity.org EA-18G Program: The USA's Electronic Growler
at DefenseIndustryDaily.com "EA-18G "Growler": New platform and capabilities
set to un-level the SEAD playing field". Flight International, 8 July 2008.
"When Hornets Growl". Air & Space, 1 March 2011.
EA-18G Growler Electronic Attack Aircraft VAQ-141 Shadowhawks EA-18G Growler: Photo
walk around of two aircraft including the CAG bird.