First Air-to-Air Kill by US EA-18G Growler Jet Targets Houthis.

The US Navy has revealed that, in the anti-Houthi armed mission, the electronic warfare aircraft EA-18G Growler was used for the first time in air-to-air combat. The electronic attack aircraft squadron also made its debut using the advanced anti-radiation missile (AARGM) fleet, touted as the new generation “radar killer”.

EA-18G Growler was previously deployed on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower for several months, belonging to the VAQ-130 Zappers electronic attack squadron. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier has completed a 9-month deployment in the Middle East and has just returned to its homeport in Washington state. In the tumultuous region of the Red Sea in the Middle East, this squadron, along with other forces of the carrier air wing, conducted cooperative operations, providing crucial aerial capabilities for the US Navy.

In a statement released on July 14, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group mentioned that the VAQ-130 squadron, led by Commander Carl Ellsworth, operates the EA-18G Growler, the only dedicated electronic attack aircraft in the US military mainly used for Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). The Zappers squadron is the first to use the advanced AARGM in combat. VAQ-130 also marks the first Growler squadron in naval history to conduct a kill in air-to-air combat.

The carrier-based EA-18G Growler is a derivative of the F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jet, featuring advanced electronic warfare capabilities. It is equipped with tactical jamming pods and AGM-88 High-Speed Anti-Radiation (HARM) air-to-ground missiles. The aircraft also carries AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, a beyond-visual-range weapon used to shoot down enemy aircraft identified by the Navy.

The US Navy possesses 159 EA-18G electronic attack aircraft.

Commander Ellsworth of VAQ-130 stated, “I cannot recall a more challenging deployment for the Navy.” He described the recent deployment to the Red Sea as the US Navy experiencing the “most intense maritime operations since World War II”.

He mentioned that the Zappers team fulfilled their duties in an extremely challenging environment for consecutive months, often unsure of what each day would bring.

In addition to the historic air-to-air kill, EA-18G Growler pilots also achieved another historic milestone by becoming the first fighter jet squadron to use the Northrop Grumman Company’s advanced AARGM in combat.

The Navy did not specify which Houthi threats were neutralized by the Growlers. However, a report from TheWarZone suggested that a video shared by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier commander appeared to show a drone kill mark on the side of a Growler aircraft parked on the carrier’s flight deck. During the Red Sea deployment, similar marks were found on other aircraft as well.

In a video shared on social media, the drone kill marks were visible, along with two additional marks showcasing successful air-to-ground strikes, shared by USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier commander, Colonel Chris “Chowdah” Hill.

Hill noted that pilots post victory marks on aircraft as a tradition to signify successful engagements such as dropping bombs, launching missiles, destroying drones, and ships, among others.

According to reports from National Interest, AARGM is used to destroy Mi-24/35 (NATO codenamed “Hind”) helicopters on the ground.

The statement from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group mentioned that during the historic combat deployment, the Zappers conducted continuous operations in the southern Red Sea, the Strait of Mandeb, and the Gulf of Aden to ensure the freedom of navigation through international waterways.

In the Operation Yukon Lightning, VAQ-130 carried out seven pre-planned specific strikes against Houthi-controlled Yemen, executing nearly 700 combat missions to weaken the Houthis’ ability to threaten innocent vessels. The squadron’s pilots not only witnessed Iran-backed anti-ship ballistic missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles, and one-way attack (OWA) drones being maliciously and indiscriminately used but also supported the US and coalition forces launch over 120 standard missiles and dozens of Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles (TLAM) for self-defense.

The US Navy stated that the carrier air wing on USS Dwight D. Eisenhower includes four attack fighter squadrons that flew thousands of sorties during the deployment, accumulating over 30,000 flight hours.

The EA-18G Growler may bear resemblance to the F/A-18 Super Hornet, but it is a fundamentally different aircraft.

As previously reported by National Interest, the EA-18G Growler version of the F/A-18 was developed to replace the Navy’s previous carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft, the EA-6B Prowler, which was retired in 2019 after 48 years of service.

The Super Hornet is a multi-role fighter capable of various missions, whereas the Growler is specifically designed as an electronic warfare aircraft for identifying, disrupting, and destroying enemy air defense systems. The EA-18G Growler entered combat for the first time in 2011 during Operation Odyssey Dawn over Libya’s no-fly zone, but it had not achieved an air-to-air kill until recently when deployed with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike group to the Red Sea.