Country of origin:

United States of America

Description:

Electronic warfare aircraft

Power Plant:

Two 22,000 lbst General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans

Specifications:

Armament:

None. Hardpoints totalling six under the wings and three under the fuselage with a capacity of 8,050 kg (17,750 lb) provided for external fuel and ordnance.  AIM-120 ARMAARM for self-protection on fuselage stations and AGM-88 HARM missiles.

History:

The Boeing EA-18G Growler was designed as an aircraft-carrier based electronic warfare aircraft and was basically a specialised variant of the Boeing FA-18F Super Hornet and replaced the Grumman EA-6B Prowler in service with US Navy units. Production of the series began in 2007 and operational service commenced in September 2009. The prototype Growler (EA-1 – 166614) made its first flight on 15 August 2006 at Lambert International Airport in St Louis, Missouri.

In November 2001 an FA-18F was demonstrated fitted with an ALQ-99 electronic-warfare system. A contract was awarded by the US Navy in December 2003 to Boeing, which constructed the forward fuselage, wings and final assembly. Northrop Grumman was awarded the contract as the principal airframe sub-contractor for the electronic combat system. Orders for the US Navy were expected to reach 90 aircraft and production commenced in October 2004.

The second aircraft (EA-2) first flew on 10 November 2006 and was flown to NAS Patuxent River in Maryland for development of the aircraft before proceeding to the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake in California. The first two aircraft were Boeing FA-18Fs removed from the production line at St Louis and modified by Boeing to EA-18G configuration but, as they were not actually built as EA-18Gs, they became known as NEA-18Gs.

Flight testing concluded in 2008 and by 2009 production had reached 20 aircraft per year. By mid-2010 approval had been granted for 114 examples to be built.

Performance of the EA-18G Growler was similar to the FA-18E and FA-18F and this enabled the aircraft to perform escort jamming as well as stand-off jamming. To provide stable flight the leading-edge fairings and wing fold hinge fairings were modified, and wing fences and aileron “tripper strips” were installed.

The EA-18G had more than 90 per cent commonality with the Super Hornet and shared the same airframe, Raytheon radar, weapons systems and stores management system, but most of the electronic attack equipment was installed in the space previously used by the internal 20 mm cannon. There were still nine weapons stations available for additional weapons or jamming pods, of which up to five ALQ-99 pods could be installed. It could also carry two AIM-120 AMRAAM or AGM-88 HARM missiles. Power was provided by two General Electric F414 GE-400 turbofans which provided 14,000 lbst dry and 22,000 lbst with afterburning..

On 31 July 2009 the US Department of Defense cleared the Growler for carrier operations, trials having been conducted aboard the ‘USS Dwight D Eisenhower’ [CVN 69] involving one EA-18G (G-1) and one FA-18F aircraft aerodynamically configured to replicate an EA-18SG between 31 July and 5 August 2008. During these trials performed by Squadron VX-23, 319 approaches were made comprising a combination of ‘wave-offs’, ‘touch and goes’ and ‘traps’, a total of 62 arrested landings and catapult launches being completed.

The EA-18G Growler first saw combat in Operation Odyssey Dawn in Libya, enforcing the United Nations no fly zone. By May 2011 48 examples had been received by the US Navy

On 23 August 2012 the Australian Government announced that 12 of the RAAF’s Super Hornets would be fitted with Growler capability, this making Australia the only military operator other than the USAF to operate this type of electronic jamming equipment. On 3 May 2013 the Australian Government announced it would buy 12 new-build EA-18G Growlers to supplement the Super Hornet fleet.

However, the Australian Government decided, instead of converting 12 of the FA-18F Super Hornets, it would acquire 12 new EA-18G Growlers under Project Air 5349 Phase 3 with an initial operational capability in mid 2018, the type giving the Australian Defence Force the only tactical airborne electronic attack capability outside the US Navy and the US Marines.

In June 2014 it was announced the first EA-18G Growler (A46-301) for the RAAF had entered production at the Northrop Grumman El Segundo plant in California where Northrop would build the centre and rear fuselage before they were shipped to Boeing for final assembly and flight testing in St Louis, Missouri. At this time the first Australian Growler crews had already commenced training on the type in the United States with the US Navy’s VAQ-129 Growler Training Organisation at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island near Seattle, Washington State, the first six crews completing training at that facility by 2016. Graduates flew operations with one of the US Navy land-based expeditionary squadrons in order to gain operational experience. Some Australian crews stayed on with the US Navy after the aircraft arrived at Amberley, QLD and US Navy crews have been posted on exchange to Amberley.

The first Growler was handed over to the RAAF at a ceremony at the St Louis facility of Boeing in Missouri on 29 July 2015. During the handing over of the first aircraft Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshall Geoffrey Brown, stated that in many respects the Growler was the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle required to transform the RAAF into a full-spectrum force. “It is an extremely important milestone in the development of the RAAF, the ability to shut down surface-to-air missiles or other electronic emissions across the battlespace is a truly unique capability.”

The aircraft could carry a Raytheon ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infra-red (ATFLIR) pod and this enabled confirmation and identification of targets which could then mean targeting solutions could be quickly and securely handed off via data-link to other strike aircraft. It also had the ability to carry the AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles.

All 12 of the RAAF aircraft had been completed for the RAAF by the end of 2016, the Military Air Operations Certificate from the Defence Aviation Authority being received in November 2016.

Subsequently the first tranche of four Growlers was ferried to Amberley RAAF base in Queensland in December 2016, to be followed six months later by the balance of the fleet. The aircraft have been operated by No 6 Squadron, the former General Dynamics F-111C and FA-18F Operational Conversion Unit, at that time the unit relinquishing its training role. The Super Hornets were transferred to No 1 Squadron, Super Hornet conversion training then taking place at US Navy training units at NAS Oceana in Virginia, USA from 2015.

Further batches of aircraft arrived at Amberley in April and June 2017. During trials, launches of theAdvanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and both the Raytheon AGM-88B High Speed Anti Radiation Missile [HARM] the Alliant Techsystems AGM-88E Advanced Anti Radiation Guided Missile [AARGM] took place.

In January 2018 four of No 6 Squadron’s Growlers flew to the United States to take part in Exercise Red Flag 18-1 held at the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. During the exercises one of the aircraft (A46-311) on take-off suffered an engine problem and subsequently caught fire, the aircraft running off the runway and suffering extensive damage, the crew not being injured. In mid 2018 the Australian Department of Defence announced this aircraft “was deemed beyond economic repair and has been withdrawn from service”. In October 2021 it was announced a further EA-18G Growler had been ordered to replace A46-311 to bring the fleet up to 12 aircraft. In February 2023 the Australian Government announced an investment to upgrade th RAAFs fleet of Growlers, including an upgrade of the training ranges used by the unit as well as upgraded sensor and jamming capabilities.

In February 2023 No 6 Squadron went to thenRed Flag Combat exercises  and the scenario took place above Las Vegas in Nevada from 23 Januaey to 10 February, the detachment working with personnel from the United States and the United Kingdomwityh USAF F-22A Raptors, US Marine Corps F-35s and RAF Eurofighter Typhoons.