US Navy Arms EA-18G Growler Electronic Attack Jets on the USS Ronald Reagan in East China Sea

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

US Navy weapons experts have been arming the EW-18A Growler Electronic Attack jet on board the USS Ronald Reagan in the East China Sea, a move which likely further seeks to deter North Korean nuclear threats, align with Korean and Japanese allies and prepare for a wide range of maritime combat contingencies. The latest movements of the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group come following a port visit to South Korea, a move which prompted North Korean nuclear first strike threats. 

“The US Navy’s Ronald Reagancarrier strike group joined the Republic of Korea Navy’s Sejong the Great-class destroyer ROKS Yulgok Yi I (DDG 992) and the first-in-class fast-combat support ship ROKS Cheonji (AOE 57), as well as Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter destroyer JS Hyuga (DDH 181),” a US Navy essay said.

A published photo of the Navy’s EA-18G being armed with weapons on board the USS Ronald Reagan suggests that the EW platform is participating in ongoing tri-lateral war drills and arming itself with missiles, bombs and the latest in EW attack technology.

The EA-18G Growler aircraft, long-known for shadowing attack formations with EW detection and attack technology, are attached to a unit the Navy calls the Shadowhawks of Electronic Attack Squadron. Arming the Growlers on the USS Ronald Reagan is part of a tri-lateral training and war preparation exercise between Korea, Japan and the US Navy aimed at securing stability in the region and likely sending a clear message of deterrence to North Korea.

In an explanation of its moves to Arm the EW aircraft on board the USS Ronald Reagan, a Navy essay verified the operational focus on the EA-18G.

“The primary role of EA-18G Growlers is to disrupt the ability to communicate between units in combat through the use of electronic warfare,” the Navy essay says.

For many years now, US Navy weapons developers have been sustaining and upgrading the Growler to expand its weapons arsenal, sensing capabilities and electronic attack technology.