The EA-18G Growler is a vital asset for the US Navy in the airborne electronic attack role, and its capabilities are set to increase via the Next-Generation Jammer initiative.
An EA-18G Growler with three ALQ-99 pods, all of which will be replaced incrementally under the Next-Generation Jammer project. The pod under the fuselage is the lowband jammer. Jamie Hunter
THE US NAVY places the airborne electronic attack (AEA) mission higher on the agenda than do any of its sister services in the US. The fact that it is gearing up to house a whopping 118 EA-18G Growlers at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington — establishing two additional expeditionary squadrons there and adding two EA-18Gs to each carrier-based unit — illustrates the importance of the role, even at a time when it is about to start fielding stealthy F-35Cs.
