The Airplane that Rips an Enemy's Eyes Out

following the tremendous combat success of the fa-18f Super Hornet the United States Navy and Aerospace company Boeing began to experiment with an electronic warfare variant that could replace the Aging Grumman ea6b this led to the introduction of The ea-18g Growler a direct derivative of the Super Hornet that had the best of both worlds despite being created for electronic warfare The Growler retained its predecessor's top-notch performance and combat capabilities making it a powerful asset for any Air Squadron [Music] The Growler could carry Mighty aim 120mram medium-range air-to-air missiles an agm-88 harm anti-radiation missiles if needed as well as multiple state-of-the-art electronic equipment to completely disrupt the sensors Communications and weapons networks of any hostile Force all these features came in handy during operation Odyssey Dawn in 2011. when a squad of Growlers was deployed to enforce the no-fly zone over Libya and halt Muammar Gaddafi's plans during the extremely violent Civil War foreign [Music] Super Hornet the Boeing fa-18f Super Hornet is a twin engine carrier capable multi-role fighter aircraft variant based on the successful McDonnell Douglas fa-18 hornet it is on with an internal 20 millimeter m61 Vulcan Cannon an air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles the aircraft is highly customizable and can even be used as an Airborne tanker with an external air-to-air refueling system the Super Hornet flew for the first time in 1995 and production began in early 1997. once it proved its airworthiness the Super Hornet replaced the iconic Drummond F-14 Tomcat in 1999. super hornets have seen action in the Middle East going back to 2002 when they were first deployed to conduct airstrikes during operation Southern watch since then the super hornets have seen action with numerous NATO partners and other Allied Nations and their outstanding performance prompted the Navy to experiment with different variants one of which was an fa-18f fitted with an alq 99 electronic warfare system that could be used as the ea-18 Airborne electronic attack aircraft a replacement in December of 2003 the Navy awarded Boeing a five-year system development contract for the ea-18g electronic warfare variant the objective was to develop a design that could overtake the electronic warfare role of the time-tested Grumman ea6b Prowler an updated model of the original Grumman A6 intruder the prowler had achieved critical success during the Vietnam war another 20th century conflicts still it was time to find a more powerful replacement Boeing was to build the forward fuselage the wings and the final assembly while Northrop Grumman would Supply the electronic combat system the center and the AFT fuselage the first ea-18g prototype began production in late 2004 and was simply dubbed AE-1 it was rolled out on August 3rd 2006 and the prototype's first flight was recorded on August 15 2006. following the successful trial the Navy awarded the company a contract to produce six aircraft the second prototype ea2 was ready in November of 2006 in the first operational aircraft was delivered to the Navy less than two years later by the end of 2010 more than 40 ea-18gs were in production Growler design as a derivative of the Super Hornet The Growler shares most of the visual Aesthetics of its older brother with more than 90 percent of its physical characteristics however The Growler has some structural changes that are directly related to the installation of avionics and unique mission systems which increase its total weight to almost 66 000 pounds the aircraft has a length of 60 feet a width of 44 feet and a height of 16 feet and the materials include a light alloy multi-spar Wing high strength graphite and epoxy panels it also features a tandem cockpit designer placed behind an extended nose cone assembly where the Raytheon an apg-79 active electronically scanned array radar system is stored the pilot is located in the forward cockpit and the system officer is in the rear cockpit meanwhile the advanced crew station has a touchscreen liquid mission systems control display two multi-purpose LCDs and one full color tactical LCD with tactical aircraft moving map capability additionally The Growler features an hmcs or helmet mounted queuing system that has a first look first shot High off-bore Sight weapons engagement capability this system allows the pilot to point his head at the Hostile aircraft and automatically direct the weapons to Target it and shoot it down most of the electronic equipment is mounted in the space with the super Hornet's Vulcan Cannon is stored still The Growler has nine weapon stations left for additional weaponry finally power is provided by a pair of general electric f414 GE 400 turbofan engines that offer up to 22 000 pounds of thrust each guarantee is a top speed of almost 1200 miles per hour or Mach 1.8 an approximate range of 1470 miles and a service ceiling of 50 000 feet electronic capabilities The Growler can be fitted with five alq 99 jamming pods that house high radiated power jamming transmitters these are installed in the aircraft's tail and two agm-88 harm or aim 120 amram missiles can also be carried in addition the aircraft can also be equipped with the apg-79 multi-mode radar with passive detection mode the advanced apg-79 active electronically scanned array has air-to-air and air-to-ground detection protection tracking and Target acquisition modes meanwhile its radar has a four Channel receiver Exciter that could generate waveforms with increased range for electronic warfare some of the radar modes include sea surface search ground moving Target indication and air-to-air tracking in March of 2021 the Navy in Boeing launched a five-year modification program to revamp The Growler Captain Chris Bonner commander of the electronic attack wing of the Pacific Fleet said to the Press quote we're excited to have The Growler industry team here working on capabilities that will bring the fleet enhanced electronic surveillance enhanced data link and the ability to carry the Next Generation Jammer pod this new Jammer will increase the electronic attack capabilities of The Growler enhancing its ability to transfer data faster and more securely operational status the United States Navy electronic attack Squadron 129 or vaq-129 accepted the First Fleet of ea-18g Growlers on June 3rd 2008. also known as the Vikings the aq-129 had its Beginnings during the Cold War when its Crews flew the A3 Sky Warrior during the Vietnam War under the designation vah10 or heavy attack Squadron 10. from 1970 onwards the unit was redesignated tactical electronic warfare 129 as it began flying the ea-6b Prowlers the unit then began its career as the fleet replacement Squadron for ea6b Fleet commands and The Growler completed operational evaluation with vaq-129 in July of 2009 rated as suitable for operational service a month later on August 5th 2009 some growlers from vaq-129 and baq-132 completed their first C carrier arrested Landing aboard the nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman foreign Deployable ea-18g Squadron then reached operational status in October of 2009 with vaq-132 also known as The Scorpions the first operational deployment was announced two years later in February of 2011. to avoid confusion the growler's radio name during operations became Grizzly as Growler sounds similar to prowler a squadron of ea-18gs was used in conduct for the first time during operation Odyssey Dawn the U.S involvement in NATO's operation in Libya to enforce the United Nations security Council resolution of 1973. foreign 's objective was to implement a no-fly zone to prevent government forces under dictator Muammar Gaddafi from carrying out air attacks on Rebel forces Odyssey Dawn took place between March 19th and March 31st of 2011 and was a success for NATO forces the operation later revolved into unified protector which resulted in an arms embargo over Libya and severe sanctions against the Gaddafi regime the lone tactical Jammer by May of 2011 the U.S Navy had received over 48 Growlers with the termination of the B-52 Shadow Fortress eb-52h program which intended to modify 16 b-52h airframes with additional electronic jamming capabilities The Growler became the only man tactical Jammer the idea behind this program was to convert 16b52h bombers into electronic warfare assets and each aircraft would be fitted with specialized electronic jamming equipment [Music] if successful the program would have restored the usaf's Airborne jamming capability that it lost after the Grumman ef-111 Raven was retired from service unfortunately the eb-52h program was suspended in 2005 and grounded for good in 2009. still air staff requirements director Major General David Scott has stated that the Air Force will provide electronic warfare officers to fly on Navy Growlers without additional funding foreign [Music] Air Force growler in 2008 the Royal Australian Air Force and the Australian government showed interest in acquiring the ea-18g and requested export approval from the U.S to issue an order the intent was to buy Six ea18gs that were part of an order of 24 super Hornets then in 2009 the Australian defense minister announced that 12 Australian super Hornets would be upgraded with Growler capability at the cost of 1.5 billion dollars five years later Boeing was awarded a contract to deliver 12 Growlers to the Royal Australian Air Force or RAF under a foreign sales agreement with the U.S Navy the first of the 12 ea-18g Growlers was delivered to the Australian Air Force on July 29 2015 making it the first country to operate it besides the United States during the press conference Air Marshal Jeff Brown former Chief of the raaf said quote The Growlers will complement our existing and Future air combat capability and we will be much more lethal with this aea protection the acquisition of The Growlers and super Hornets follows the guidelines of plan Jericho a program intended to transform the raaf into an integrated networked Force capable of delivering air support in all types of environments as rear Admiral Donald Gattis U.S Navy program executive officer for tactical aircraft programs put it quote Growlers are The Cutting Edge of electronic warfare as the U.S Navy and raaf continue to train and operate together we welcome Australia's strategic step to advance the capabilities of our joint partners for years of future success foreign please like And subscribe to our dark documentaries channels to find more exciting historical content and don't forget to hit the Bell icon to be notified of our newest videos stay tuned

Channel: Dark Skies

Views: 604,098

Keywords: aviation, airplanes, aircraft, air force, history, documentary, history channel, documentary channel, dark docs, dark skies, EA-18G Growler, electronic, electronic warefare, boeing, navy, us air force, education

Id: OZF6hOnRlco

Length: 13min 31sec (811 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 29 2022