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Enter the Growler: The Navy's newest warplane enters the fleet
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The Growler is based on the proven F/A-18F Super Hornet. This Super Hornet, assigned to VFA-154 "The Black Knights", is being launched off the deck of the Nimitz-class carrier USS John C. Stennis CVN-74. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Denny Cantrell)
Replacing the United States Navy’s geriatric fleet of EA-6B Prowler Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) aircraft is the brand new EA-18G Growler. Like the Prowler before it, the Growler is based on a proven airframe, in this case, the state of the art Block II F/A-18F Super Hornet. “Simply put, it’s a Block II F/A-18F with the AESA radar combined with the latest and greatest ICAP III package from the Prowler with some added capabilities to the latter”, explains Commander Frank Morley, Deputy Program Manager for the US Navy’s F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office.
The Block II Super Hornet is the Navy’s most advanced fighter and incorporates advanced avionics such as the APG-79 Active Electronically Scanner Array (AESA) radar and features advanced networking capabilities. Composed of thousands of individual transmit/receive modules, the APG-79’s AESA antenna allows the Super Hornet to simultaneously operate both air-to-air and air-to-ground radar modes. The APG-79 can also generate detailed synthetic aperture radar maps and is reputedly able to focus its power onto a threat radar emitter to either jam or damage the enemy system. The ICAP III, meanwhile, is the final modernized incarnation of the aging Prowler’s avionics suite. This avionics package consists of myriad radio frequency receivers and jamming systems. For use in the Growler, the ICAP III suite was further upgraded before being adapted for the Super Hornet airframe, Morley said.
An EA-6B Prowler assigned to VAQ-138 "The Yellowjackets" lands on the USS John C. Stennis. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Denny Cantrell)
“Integrating AEA with an advanced fighter capability creates a lot of synergies and commonalities with the Super Hornet”, Morley states. The Prowler, which is based on the Vietnam-era A-6 Intruder strike aircraft, has no capability to defend itself from an air-to-air threat, Morley explains. By contrast, Morley said that the Growler incorporates almost the entire spectrum of fighter capabilities offered by the Super Hornet into its arsenal. The aircraft lacks only the F/A-18’s nose-mounted 20 millimeter M61A1 Vulcan rotary cannon and the two wing-tip mounted AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles found on it’s Hornet forbearer. A pallet of specialized avionics required for the AEA mission occupies the space normally take up by the gun while, similarly, avionics pods occupy the wing tip mounted missile rails.
These avionics, mounted in the wingtip pods and the nose pallet, are components of the ALQ-218 (V) 2 system. This advanced wideband radio frequency receiver is at the heart of the ICAP III system. On the Prowler, the ALQ-218 (V) 1 system was installed in a single tail mounted blister, however due to the space constraints on the Super Hornet airframe “the RF receiver system was split up”, Morley said. This new arrangement maintains the performance of the ALQ-218 receiver with some potential enhancements inherent in the split configuration, Morley explained.
Other enhancements to the Growler include replacing the Prowler’s USQ-113 communications jamming system with the brand new state of the art ALQ-227 Communication Countermeasures System (CCS). The new digital hardware is more compact and more capable than the older system mounted on the Prowler, and provides jamming capability over a broader range of frequencies. Similarly, the Prowler’s Multi-Mission Advanced Tactical Terminal (MATT) computer system will be replaced and new satellite communications gear will be installed, Morley said. One of the most significant improvements over the Prowler, Morley said, is the addition of the Interference Cancellation System (INCANS). “The INCAS allows us to communicate over UHF while actively jamming. A major shortcoming of the Prowler was communicating while the jammers were on. It’s a very nice capability to have”, Morley explained.
An EA-18G Growler lands at NAS Whidbey Island for the first time. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bruce McVicar)
One of the major questions on the minds of many in the Prowler community about the transition from the four-person crew of the EA-6B to the two-seat Growler was the ability of a smaller crew to handle the complex AEA mission. Morley said, “The short answer is yes”. He explained that the Growler, with its Advanced Crew Station (ACS) and computerized “glass cockpit” retained from the Block II Super Hornet, allows information to be processed much more efficiently by the two-person crew. Also, unlike in the Prowler, where the pilot had virtually no involvement with the AEA mission, the “pilot plays a much more active role” in employing the Growler’s electronic attack systems, Morley said. Additionally, he added that there was “a lot of effort to cycle aircrews through to perfect the displays and symbology”. The Navy also tested the EA-18G at large force exercises at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, as part of the aircraft’s developmental phase. Testing in an “operational environment” proved to be of enormous benefit to the program, Morley said.
Note the four-seat cockpit of the Prowler. This aircraft is onboard the USS Nimitz CVN-68 and is assigned to VAQ-135. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Patrick Heil)
While the basic airframe of the Growler is the same as the Super Hornet, the addition of the wing-tip mounted pods and antennas onto the airframe means that stores separation trials have to be conducted before the Growler is cleared to release the Super Hornet’s full arsenal of weapons. Currently, the EA-18G is only qualified to release the AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air and AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles, which are vital to the aircraft’s mission. A typical combat configuration includes two AMRAAMs, two HARMs, two external fuel tanks and three ALQ-99 transmitter pods mounted under the wings. The ALQ-99s are another holdover from the Prowler and will eventually be replaced by a next generation jamming pod. More weapons will be added to the Growler’s repertoire as they are certified for safe release. Morley notes however, that there are still ongoing stores separation trials for the baseline Super Hornet nearly a decade after its introduction to the fleet.
For the crews flying the Growler, training will “first and foremost” focus on the AEA mission, Morley said. The Growler crews will still practice air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics, but “to a more limited degree” than their Super Hornet brethren, he explained. How the Growler will be employed will be dictated by the “high value, low density” nature of the aircraft, Morley says. In essence, there are only a few, very valuable, aircraft tasked to perform a mission that is very much in demand. Because of the high value status of the EA-18G, “we’re not going to employ this jet as aggressively as a normal fighter”, Morley said.
With the development of the Growler essentially complete, the focus is now on getting the aircraft to the fleet. “Operational Evaluations ended last month”, Morley said, clearing the way for Initial Operational Capability (IOC) to be declared “toward the end of the year”. The first two operational fleet EA-18G squadrons, VAQ-132 and VAQ-141 are well on their way to achieving operational certification, with VAQ-132 having already received their full complement of five Growlers. The first operational carrier deployment of the jet is tentatively scheduled for 2010. Meanwhile, the Fleet Replenishment Squadron (FRS), VAQ-129, which began receiving its planes back in June 2008, is already training transition crews to fly the new aircraft. A total of 12 Growlers are now operational with the Navy at the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, located in a remote corner of Washington State.
An EA-18G Growler assigned to VAQ-129 "Vikings" during a training exercise at Naval Air Facility El Centro, California. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Rialyn Rodrigo)
Morley said that the Navy would procure a total of 88 EA-18Gs. This would mean one squadron consisting of five aircraft would be allotted for each of the Navy’s 10 carrier air wings. The remaining aircraft would be assigned to training duties at the FRS or serve as an “attrition reserve”. No aircraft, however, are being procured to replace the Navy’s shore based AEA squadrons that fly the Prowler in support of the United States Air Force (USAF). The USAF, thus far, has decided not to participate in the Navy’s Growler program. Nor is the United States Marine Corps inclined to purchase the Growler to replace their aging fleet of Prowlers, preferring instead to replace their AEA assets with a future variant of the F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter.
Even though the other services have declined to participate in the Growler program, the Navy believes the AEA mission is here to stay. Morley explained, “Even flying stealthy aircraft, the AEA requirement doesn’t go away. The flight deck of the future is going to consist of three aircraft- the F-35, F/A-18, and the Growler”.
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