The US Navy's Secret Weapon: EA-18 Growler

Boeing EA-18G Growler:

Today the single most powerful military force in the world is the US Navy’s carrier strike group, which is capable of performing many missions including strike, maritime and air superiority, along with power projection. Because of its prominent role on the world stage, adversaries are continuously looking for ways to disable or deter a carrier. As a result, a carrier is always escorted by ships designed to protect it, from destroyers to cruisers, and the occasional submarine. All of these units work in conjunction with each other to form a defensive network to protect the carrier. Yet there is another critical component to this network that often gets overlooked: the EA-18g Growler. The Growler not only provides defensive and reconnaissance data to the carrier strike group, it also provides escort jamming to strike aircraft to and from a target. In many ways the Growler is at the tip of the spear and the defender of the fleet, while also being able to provide its own offensive capabilities as well. Built on the combat proven Super Hornet Airframe, today we will take a look at the development of the Growler, the aircraft it replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler, its operational history, what roles it plays today and some potential future aviation
capabilities.

This video features electronic warfare systems by Northrop Grumman and the Boeing EA-18G Growler Vaq-140. RAAF aircraft are also discussed

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Photography and Video Credits/Attributions:

"The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement."
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[JoeMitchell]

I’m a former Prowler maintainer, and I honestly deeply love those old clunky fuckers despite myself. That’s not ever going to change… nostalgia is a helluva thing. With that said, the Growler really is a massive improvement in just about every conceivable aspect. I mean, if nothing else the commonality with the existing Hornet fleet & advancements / improvements / streamlining in maintenance processes & accessibility is something I have to acknowledge as a tech. As magnificent a platform as the Prowler was, keeping them airborne & mission-capable was a *massive* pain, and dealing with things such as failures / damage to equipment that was literally irreplaceable because it hadn’t been manufactured in decades meant guys like me often had to spend an entire weekend rebuilding something. Not to mention things like how that mid-century tech used a lot of toxic or otherwise dangerous materials and processes that are even now likely not entirely well-understood. I mean there was one shop in AVI where all the folks working there ended up having daughters. Coincidence? Yeah, probably - but the solvents, sealants, and various forms of energy these systems radiated are going to affect the human body, you know? The newer stuff is not only a lot easier to get to & repair, it’s a lot less dangerous because those kinds of risks are better understood and actually considered during design & implementation.

Besides all that though, just consider how far electronics & signals technology has advanced in the time between the development of the Prowler to that of the Growler. Like, many parts of the Prowler were using frankly ancient, in some cases through-hole discrete component design boards, whereas the Growler uses micro-level multilayered boards with full support for integrated circuits. It’s a quantum leap in both performance and scale. For the layperson, think of the difference between telephones of the Prowler era and those of the Growler’s. There’s just no comparison.

The Prowler guarded the skies in support of our aircraft for decades, now it’s the Growler’s turn, and I think we’re in good hands.

[juanarce]

The design of the F-18 has paid off. The versatility is way high, who knows what other uses could be around the corner. Awesome video Juan.

[robzilla]

Great Video. I served in the US Navy in the late 70's, early 80's working on the EA-6B Prowlers assigned to VAQ-138. Our jets were very capable back then, and great assets to the strike group. I can see where today's technology has surpassed the 'old stuff'. The Growler airframe is truly a great asset today as the Prowler was back then. Hats off to the maintainers of today for carrying forward our tradition.

[EL_Duderino]

We Australians are your best buddies. We've served in just about every war with you. No wonder you shared this with us,

[UNSNSHADW]

As someone in the growler community, this video is pretty spot on and very well done.

[davidmccarty]

I'm a Vietnam veteran and I am completely blown away with our Navy's weapon capabilities

[benwelch]

I had no idea about this aircraft. Way more capability than I had thought, glad I was out voted on this one! Great job on the video, I learned a lot. Due to the quality of the production on this video, 50k might not be far off! Excellent work, cheers.

[airprok]

Of course it will. Teamed up with F 35’s and block 111 Super hornets, our navy is as lethal as it’s ever been. Coming from a naval family, I’m extremely proud of our navy and not afraid to say that it’s the best in the world and it’s not even close.

[spackle]

This is the kind of plane that secretly wins wars. These planes won't just do SEAD, but they'll disrupt an enemy's entire communication network. Without communication, you cease to be a cohesive fighting force. The countries that buy these and deploy them are brilliant.

[jomahawk]

My dad was an NFO in the EA-6B, specifically as the XO and then CO of VAQ-134 based out of Whidbey. He kept in touch with a lot of his Prowler buddies even after we moved to Germany for his next set of orders, and he kept me appraised of this plane. He was always super excited about it, telling me how it was a combination of his plane and a Hornet, and how it would open up so many possibilities for our entire military. This video is giving me the same excited vibes he always gave me when he talked about the stuff he heard from his buddies, and for that, I thank you!

[carymcgrath]

I love seeing the Super Hornets, Growlers and now F35's flying over the Gold Coast into RAAF base in Amberley.

[inCawHoots]

Zapper here.
When people talk about the Super Hornet, they don’t know about this variant.
Got that Zapper Pride for being in the oldest EA squadron. ^^

[andrewblack]

Vaq 138 Veteran here. Worked on em for 4 years right after the transition from the EA6B Prowler

[charmans]

I just discovered your channel and wow its awesome!! This was alot of great info! And my favorite things you do over other military channels is that a person is actually talking NOT some computer generated commentary where you only understand half of the content and the fact that you give us info throughout the whole video where others talk for only half of the video and the rest is just watching military footage which is nice but id rather hear more info which is why i tuned in!!! GREAT JOB!!

[paullukasik]

Saw a growler demo team this May in NY, never saw them before and they have quickly become my favorite plane after the Raptor. This is a bad ass plane.

[darksideofthemoon]

I was assigned to the VAQ-132 in Whidbey Island. I remember doing inventory on those Crash Packets which consisted of paperwork for an emergency landing and one credit card. I remember going through 544's packet many times.

[mikehighteeveedub]

I seem to remember that a Growler won some sort of 'Top Gun" type air combat demonstration a few years back. A very capable platform - a miracle for Boeing.

btw - It's crazy just how hard those Hornets/Growlers land, even on land-based runways.

[mccare]

F-22 fighters and EA-18 together dominate the sky and they are unstoppable. It is truly a secret weapon. I am glad US military has this gem.

[mikebrown]

Those Growler pilots are true heroes of our defense of our Naval assets. God bless them.

[dan]

I love how you’re getting sponsorships now; indicative that your channel is deservedly growing! Hahaha love the little references your dropped. “5th gen cereal, battle of the bulge, the right stuff…” But my favorite line is “0 grams of sugar, so you could avoid the danger zone..” LOL nice.