Posted on 02/08/2010 2:43:44 AM PST by A.A. Cunningham
UPDATE: Obama wants 26 more Growlers for Whidbey
By JESSIE STENSLAND
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor
Feb 03 2010, 5:24 PM · UPDATED
The Whidbey Island Naval Air Station will receive an additional 26 EA-18G Growler aircraft under President Obama’s 2011 defense budget.
Under the proposal, the Department of Defense plans to purchase the additional 26 electronic attack aircraft over the next two years.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen made the announcement late Monday.
“Buying more Growlers will strengthen our national security and support jobs at NAS Whidbey and in the surrounding community,” said Larsen, who serves as a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Electronic Warfare Working Group. “Growler aircraft will provide superior Electronic Warfare capabilities that are urgently needed around the world.”
Until Monday, the Navy had planned to purchase and operate only 88 EA-18G Growlers to replace the aging EA-6B Prowlers. The announcement means that the Navy will purchase a total of 114 Growlers and will continue to deploy these electronic attack aircraft both on carriers and on land as “expeditionary” squadrons.
The budget proposes purchasing 12 Growlers in 2011 and 24 Growlers in 2012; previous defense budgets had called for purchasing 10 Growlers in 2011 and none the following year.
The Navy’s EA-18G Growler, a derivative of the F/A-18F Super Hornet, is built by Boeing.
According to Bob Papadakis with the Boeing Company, the company has delivered 19 Growlers to the Navy so far.
Kim Martin, public affairs officer at NAS Whidbey, said the base has all the necessary infrastructure and facilities to handle the extra aircraft.
In addition, Martin said the announcement suggests that the Growler expeditionary squadrons, which aren’t assigned to carrier air wings, will remain on Whidbey. The fate of the three squadrons had been in flux.
“I think this is great news,” Martin said. “I think it reduces the uncertainly surrounding those squadrons.”
Whidbey News Times Assistant editor Jessie Stensland can be reached at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or 360.675.6611.
“Until Monday, the Navy had planned to purchase and operate only 88 EA-18G Growlers to replace the aging EA-6B Prowlers.”
So, had the Navy wanted more, or is this “unexpected” ?
This lets the air force off the hook for their inability to field their own ECM dedicated platform.
I despise hearing these b@!#ards talk about supporting local jobs when it comes to doing what is right with our national defense. We need qualified workers to be able to build our high tech defenses, but jobs should be secondary to our nations defense and should never be mentioned by a congress critter.
I was stationed at Whidbey in the late ‘70’s. What a beautiful place. I am surprised the EA-6B has been in service so long. It is time for the upgrades.
Can't we all just get along?
USAF, U.S. Navy To Expand CooperationA small group of officers at the Pentagon is in the early stages of work on a new concept to combine the capabilities of the U.S. Air Force and Navy, offset their vulnerabilities and better use their assets to deter or defeat future enemies.
The idea has the potential, some observers think, to revolutionize the way the U.S. Air Force and Navy work with each other.
"This is the next big thing," one veteran analyst said.
"It's about putting missions on the table and cutting the pie a different way," an industry analyst added.
Called the Air-Sea Battle Concept, the work is being done at the behest of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, based on ideas espoused by Pentagon strategist Andrew Marshall.
With the blessing of Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations (CNO), and Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force chief of staff (CSAF) - who signed a classified memorandum of agreement (MoA) in late September to kick off the effort - the work is in its earliest stages, but is seeking to gain a global perspective.
Excerpt
0’s priorities seems screwed up. Surely the keeping the F-22 line running would have been a better use of the money than *26* additional electronic warfare aircraft?!?
I thought the argument used for axing the F-22 was that we’re not fighting a high-tech enemy... (Not that it held water, but let’s be consistent.) What’s the justification for these white elephants, exactly?
0 lives up to his name, again.
That would be possible if everyone in the boat were rowing in the same direction. Until that happens, then no, we can't.
Quit drinking the zoomie kool aid.
“Obviously you’ve never had to fulfill an ATO requiring SEAD aircraft to suppress the very radars that can detect the airplanes; re F-117, B-2 and F-22, that the air force claims can’t be detected by said radars.”
Er, the F-117 is no longer in service, further no one has ever said that the B-2 and F-22 stealth makes them completely impervious to radar, it just lowers the detection ranges. In many cases far enough that the enemy radars are in fact rendered useless.
Are you disputing the advertised kill ratios for the F-22 in exercises?
My main point regarding the F-22, though, is that once it’s not considered such sensitive technology that it can’t be exported, there’s serious demand. It would be nice to get many billions in export dollars, eh? Not to mention not losing thousands of highly paid jobs...
It’s far from clear to me that 88 Growlers is an insufficient force - it sounds more like a pork deal than anything else.
“Quit drinking the zoomie kool aid.”
Someone’s been drinking something... ;-)
They voted for him, so of course they get new toys!
I graduated from OHHS in 1971 and my dad retired as an ADCS in 1976.
Very supportive community towards the US Navy.
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