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| Science & Technology | |
| Air Force in a Jam as Navy's Growler Moves in | |
| 2008-05-22 | |
Production EA-18Gs will begin arriving next month at their NAS Whidbey Island, Washington base, and the Growler is to enter operational evaluation in September. The electronic-attack derivative of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is scheduled to become operational in 2009 and make its first carrier deployment in 2010. But the Navy is buying only 85 Growlers, enough to equip its 10 carrier air wings but not to also provide jamming support to the Air Force. Back in 2004, an analysis of alternatives concluded the DoD’s EA solution should be the Miniature Air-Launched Decoy – Jammer (MALD-J) and Joint Unmanned Combat Air Systems (J-UCAS) for stand-in jamming; the EA-6B and EA-18G for escort jamming; penetration escort using the jamming capability of the AESA radars on the F-22 and F-35; and the EB-52 Stand-Off Jammer (SOJ). J-UCAS and SOJ were cancelled. The MALD-J was delayed and a production decision is not expected until 2011. The Air Force is still trying to get funding for a scaled-down Core Component Jammer for the B-52, focused on a narrower spectrum of radar frequencies and using receiver technology from the EA-18G to reduce cost. The Navy, meanwhile, has started working towards a next-generation electronic attack pod for the Growler. This would enter service around 2020 and provide the capability to counter future hard-to-jam AESA threat radars. The Next Generation Jammer would not be just for the EA-18G; the modular system could be used in UAVs and other platforms. For now, the Growler uses a repackaged version of the ICAP III electronic-attack system in the Prowler. But the ALQ-99 jamming pods are proving much more effective on the EA-18G, says Navy F/A-18 program manager Capt Mark Darrah. This is because the Growler’s groundbreaking comm-while-jam datalink capability ensures the jamming is accurately aligned and the aircraft being protected are exactly on a line between the radar and the jammer. Channelized receivers also focus the jamming power more effectively. These are capabilities the Air Force needs, despite the claims for stealth and AESA. Tough questions need to asked about when the Air Force will get its electronic attack house in order. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #6 Snash, I knew that but was going to refrain from making remarks about what are sure to be called "Growler Drivers" in the USMC. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-05-22 22:08 |
| #5 'Moose, taking a "growler" in Corps slang generally means taking a number 2. |
| Posted by: Snash Oppressor of the Mohammatans aka Broadhead6 2008-05-22 21:41 |
| #4 Something the EW community has been warning the AF about for years - the cargo haulers are the most valuable part of the AF now, and the Fighter Mafia choked the life out of the "mud movers" and their escorts. Stupid. Just like their refusal (until now) to get away from the single massive satellite and go to clusters. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-05-22 12:26 |
| #3 I always think of Gertie Growler from Tom Slick cartoons. |
| Posted by: Gabby Cussworth 2008-05-22 12:14 |
| #2 A five year old Winds of Change post that is quite relevant to this piece: how the AF killed its electronic warfare capability. Read it. http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/002273.php |
| Posted by: Pete Stanley 2008-05-22 12:07 |
| #1 As an aside, the word "growler" has lots of other meanings, some of them funny in context: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Growler |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-05-22 09:00 |