Grizlly

But the Prowler has suffered in recent years from wing fatigue and various obsolescence issues, not to mention the economic issues of operating with a four-man crew. The Prowler is also severely restricted in its ability to communicate with other platforms whilst jamming, has only AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles for the air-to-surface mission and no air-to-air self defence weapons, is G-limited, and has limited self-defence countermeasures capabilities against ground and air threats in medium to high threat environments. As a consequence, the EA-6B is no longer considered survivable enough to go ‘down town’ into a high threat environment with the strikers, and now performs most of its missions from stand off ranges.

So enter the ‘Grizzly’. The EA-18G differs physically from the F/A-18F in several key areas. Firstly, the aircraft is ‘plumbed’ differently in production with additional wiring and databuses for the transmission of data from the wing station and from various fuselage antennae points. It also has the nose mounted gun removed and replaced with additional avionics racks and ‘black boxes’ for the jamming mission, carries two AN/ALQ-218 Tactical jamming Receivers (TJR) pods on the wingtips, and between one and five AN/ALQ-99 jammers on centreline and wing stations. Even if a Growler is equipped with five of the 1000kg jammer pods, it still has two wing and two shoulder stations for auxiliary fuel (which it will likely need with a load like that!), an EO/IR pod, and weapons.

As a fighter derivative, the Growler also has the speed and range to keep pace with the carrier borne strike and fighter assets; can carry not just the HARM but also J-class weapons such as JDAM, JSOW, SLAM-ER, and dual mode seeker weapons; has an ATFLIR Electro Optical/Infra Red (EO/IR) pod for passive detection of ground and air threats and for targeting laser and GPS guided weapons; carries its own organic AN/ALR-67(V)3 RWR and jammer; can transmit and receive comms via voice or datalink whilst jamming; and perhaps most importantly, is equipped with the awesome AN/APG-79 AESA radar for both the detection and identification of targets, but also as a powerful adjunct the aircraft’s own jammer suite.

Boeing was quick to point out that the jamming capabilities, whilst demonstrable and having a limited operational capability, are still immature and yet to be realised anywhere near their full potential. “The APG-79 is a real jewel,” Boeing’s F/A-18E/F program manager, Mike Gibbons told us. “It has the potential to jam not only radars and comm(unication)s, but also weapons, and non-traditional threats such as the counter IED (improvised explosive device) mission.”

And whereas the EA-6B’s mission is optimised for pre-emptive jamming where it will fly into a threat area and basically shut everything down within a radius of X miles, the Growler’s mission will be a more reactive one. The EA-18G will have the capability to shut down selected frequencies or even specific radars or comms nodes through its ability to geo-locate these emitters via its own ALR-67(V)3 and the ALQ-218s, especially when flying in company with other similarly equipped aircraft for.

Development work on the EA-18G is on schedule for IOC later this year, and the Prowler is due to be out of carrier air wings by 2011, although it will remain in USMC for land-based employments service beyond that. The Navy has a requirement for about 90 Growlers, but this number may be increased if the mission is extended to escorting USAF bombers in high threat areas. Boeing has delivered 12 production Growlers to date, and all Navy operational aircraft will be based at NAS Whidbey Island near Seattle.

An Raaf Growler?

Both Boeing and the RAAF were quick to point out that, despite 12 of its jets being wired for the electronic attack mission, the RAAF is yet to order the necessary hardware and training systems for a Growler capability, and is unlikely to do so in the near term.

But despite this, the EA mission is a nice fit for the ADF, a service which has prided itself in the past and present in being a high value niche contributor to coalition operations, but also one which may face a much larger but perhaps not as well equipped foe in the future.

While 12 jets will be equipped with the necessary backbone for just an enhancement, it is unlikely the RAAF would operate all 12 as Growlers at once. Most analysts agree a more likely number would be four to six at once, thus allowing to maintenance schedules and other capacity considerations such as crewing and likely package escort requirements. But the less than $40 million investment to do the wiring on the St Louis line, less than one per cent of the total Super Hornet project cost is, on face value, an excellent investment, one that should offer the RAAF a rapidly upgradeable and flexible capability in future years. Boeing estimates the Navy pays roughly US$10m (A$13m) more for an EA-18G than a standard F model when built in whole on the St Louis line, but does not yet have any numbers for an aircraft fitted with some of the Growler elements after production.

There is a minor weight penalty for the 12 jets carrying the wiring, although this is reportedly less than 100kg which gives a range penalty of less than two per cent. A fully equipped Growler has a similar maximum takeoff weight as a Super Hornet, but a much higher ‘bring back’ weight with the jammer and RWR pods, although this should be less of an issue for the land-based RAAF than the US Navy with its ‘controlled crash’ carrier landings.

Boeing also pointed out that many of the EA-18Gs high-end electronics have not yet been cleared for export release by the US DoD, but that is more because no one has yet asked for them as opposed to any laws currently being in place to prevent their sale. Indeed, Australia may never opt for the full Growler package, and may instead choose a ‘Growler lite’ option which may include just the ALQ-218s and fewer avionics modifications. Boeing says this alone would still offer exceptional “electronic awareness” of an area of interest, if not the ability to jam targets within that area.