Article Posted on : - Feb 18, 2011

EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft. Photo: Boeing.

WASHINGTON (BNS): US Navy has recently deployed the EA-18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft for the first time.

The EA-18G is the only air combat platform that delivers full-spectrum airborne electronic attack (AEA) capability along with the targeting and self-defense capabilities derived from the Navy's frontline fighter, the F/A-18E/F Block II Super Hornet.

"The airborne electronic attack capability that the EA-18G brings to the fight is in high demand, so we are committed to continuing to deliver these aircraft to the Navy on budget and on schedule, just as we have with every F/A-18E/F," Kory Mathews, vice president of F/A-18 and EA-18 Programs for Boeing, was quoted as saying in the company news report.

A derivative of the two-seat F/A-18F Block II, the EA-18G's highly flexible design enables warfighters to operate either from the deck of an aircraft carrier or from land-based airfields. It is replacing the Navy's current AEA platform, the EA-6B Prowler, which has been in service since 1971.