Issue 299: Electronic Attack

Growlers mix it with RAAF Rhinos

An F-111 Moment

August’s confirmation that Australia is to convert 12 of its 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets to EA-18G Growler electronic attack jets was an F-111 moment.

That was a momentous decision, not really appreciated by the broader community, and what media attention it did attract tended to focus either on the cost – $1. 5 billion – or the age of the Growler’s ALQ-99 jamming pods – first fielded in the early 1970s. While both points are worthy of further analysis, both miss the point that with Growler Australia is acquiring a capability that, like the F-111, can deliver strategiclevel effects.