Navy F/A-18Gs over Iran, Venezuela show rise in aerial electronic attack

(Andrew Dardine – Defense One) The Pentagon is using the Navy’s EA-18G Growlers more than ever, suggesting more development and a bigger role for aerial electronic attack are on the way. Flying from the carriers Abraham Lincoln and Gerald R. Ford in recent months, the Growlers have used jammers and missiles to confuse, suppress, and destroy Iranian communications and radar systems and surface-to-air missile batteries. They were also key to January’s seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, when they suppressed and destroyed Russian and Chinese-derived air defenses and other infrastructure to allow the abduction team to reach their Caracas target with virtually no resistance. As usual in these types of operations, Venezuelan air defense operators learned of the attack only when their radar screens went dark. – Navy F/A-18Gs over Iran, Venezuela show rise in aerial electronic attack – Defense One