The EA-18G Growler Flying Over Iran With a Split Loadout Nobody Expected
A photograph released by US Central Command last week showed an EA-18G Growler launching from USS Abraham Lincoln carrying something unusual. Under its left wing sat an AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System pod. Under its right wing sat an AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band pod. One old, one new, on the same aircraft. The Navy doesn’t typically fly that combination and nobody has officially explained why this particular jet did.
Two Pods, Two Generations
The EA-18G Growler is the US Navy’s dedicated electronic warfare aircraft, responsible for suppressing enemy air defenses and jamming radar systems to protect strike packages operating in contested airspace. The aircraft assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron 133 aboard Lincoln has been active throughout Operation Epic Fury alongside the carrier’s full air wing, which includes F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-35C fighters, E-2D Hawkeyes, CMV-22B Ospreys, and MH-60 Seahawks.
The ALQ-99 has been the Growler’s standard jamming pod for years. The ALQ-249 NGJ-MB is its intended replacement, offering active electronically scanned array antennas that the older pod lacks and a modular open architecture that allows faster integration of new capabilities. The standard mixed loadout for jets carrying NGJ-MB pods is one ALQ-249 under each wing with an ALQ-99 on the centerline station. This aircraft carried one of each under its wings and three drop tanks, suggesting fuel range was a significant factor in mission planning.
The Reliability Question
The asymmetric loadout may reflect a practical problem the Navy has been managing throughout the NGJ-MB program. A Pentagon test and evaluation report covering through the end of Fiscal Year 2025 stated that the NGJ-MB with its current software configuration is not suitable for supporting operational missions due to additional progress required on reliability and availability.
The same report assessed the pod as at least as operationally effective as the ALQ-99 against tested threats, but acknowledged insufficient data to draw firm conclusions on workload and usability.
A Wider Gap to Fill
The frequency coverage question complicates the transition further. The NGJ-MB was designed primarily for mid-band coverage. The ALQ-99 family includes separate high-band and low-band versions.
Air defense radars operate across different frequency ranges and some are capable of modulating their signal output specifically to reduce jamming vulnerability. Carrying only mid-band coverage against a layered air defense system leaves gaps that adversaries can potentially exploit.
What It Means Over Iran
In areas where air supremacy has been established, Growlers continue to support operations by mitigating residual radar and missile threats. In contested areas, their role is more direct, clearing the electromagnetic environment ahead of strike packages and protecting launch platforms operating at standoff range.
The split loadout on the VAQ-133 Growler may say more about the current state of the NGJ-MB program than it does about any specific mission requirement. But whatever combination of pods that aircraft carried over Iran last week, the electronic warfare capability it provided was part of why strike aircraft reached their targets.
