March 28, 2024

Growlers Return Unscathed

EA-18G Growlers assigned to the Scorpions of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 perform a fly-by during a homecoming ceremony at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island following an eight-month expeditionary deployment supporting Operation New Dawn and Operations Odyssey Dawn and Unified Protector. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Nardel Gervacio)

By PEO(T) Public Affairs

The “Scorpions” of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 132 returned safely Stateside July 9 after being the first operational EA-18G Growler squadron to forward deploy.

The event marked a milestone completion to an eight-month deployment that included combat operations in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn and Operation New Dawn.

“It’s a sense of mission accomplishment and great to know that the aircraft performed so well,” said Cmdr. Jeff Craig, commanding officer of VAQ-132. “It’s a very reliable aircraft, very capable, but nothing happens on deployment without the support of our people.”

During their deployment, the Scorpions flew more than 700 missions and logged more 3,000 hours of flight time, all while maintaining a 100 percent sortie accomplishment rate. This was accomplished with five aircraft, 10 crews and supported by 190 enlisted personnel.

“The transition to the Growler was very thorough and comprehensive from the mission aspect,” said Craig. “We’ve spent a lot of time on training and it prepared us quite well for the deployment.”

The EA-18G Growler is the fourth major variant of the F/A-18 family of aircraft that combines the proven F/A-18F Super Hornet platform with a sophisticated electronic warfare suite. Built to replace the EA-6B Prowler, the Growler is the first newly-designed electronic warfare aircraft produced in more than 35 years. The aircraft also retains all of the F/A-18E/F’s multi-mission capabilities with its validated design and the capability to perform a wide range of enemy defense suppression missions.

“It’s a very exciting accomplishment for the Navy and for our nation to have the Growler in the fleet — on time, on cost and with the performance that was expected. What we’re hearing from the fleet is that the young lieutenants and lieutenant commanders who are flying the aircraft, are just as we thought, taking advantage of the capabilities of the Block 2 Super Hornet to make the jet more effective,” said Capt. Mark Darrah, program manager for the F/A-18 and EA-18G Program Office (PMA-265). “We’re looking forward to more feedback from the fleet in order to continue developing exciting capabilities for the aircraft.”

Craig said he was proud of the accomplishments of his air and maintenance crews and confident in the squadron’s sustained capabilities.

“It was a true team effort; to the representatives at Boeing, our Sailors and their families,” he said.

Three expeditionary squadrons and 10 carrier-based squadrons are scheduled to transition from the Prowler to the Growler by the 2015 timeframe, according to Darrah.

Leave A Comment