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Boeing EA-18G Growler

🇺🇸 United States ·first flew 2006· carrier-based electronic-warfare aircraft

🎖️ military 2× jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. Growler with alq-99: US Navy· Public domain
  2. 2. EA-18G Growler VX-9 from below 2008: U.S. Navy photo by Cmdr. Ian C. Anderson, USN· Public domain
  3. 3. U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler breaks away from a U.S. Air Force KC-135 (altered): Senior Airman John Linzmeier· Public domain
  4. 4. US Navy 070409-N-6247M-038 EA-18G Growler is parked on the airfield next to an EA-6B Prowler: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bruce McVicar· Public domain
  5. 5. US Navy 090217-N-3610L-243 An EA-18G Growler assigned to the: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Torrey W. Lee· Public domain
  6. 6. 'SCORPION 543' - EA-18G static display(1). (7995727791): Ken H / @chippyho· CC BY-SA 2.0
  7. 7. 168264 Boeing EA-18G Growler Electronic Attack Squadron 136 (VAQ-136) "The Gauntlets" (13864155185): Tomás Del Coro from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA· CC BY-SA 2.0
  8. 8. A U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler aircraft assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 130 lands aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during night flight operations in the Mediterranean Sea 130815-N-GR168-027: MC2 Lyle Wilkie III· Public domain
  9. 9. An EA-18G Growler as it taxis off the flight line. (8318419248): Official U.S. Navy Page from United States of America· Public domain
  10. 10. An EA-18G Leaving A Cloud of Burning Rubber on OLF Coupeville 10 June: AvgeekJoe· CC BY 2.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
Boeing EA-18G Growler, photo 1 of 10
1/10 US Navy· Public domain

what is it?

The Boeing EA-18G Growler is an American carrier-based electronic-warfare aircraft, a specialized version of the two-seat Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet. The EA-18G replaced the Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowlers in service with the United States Navy. The Growler's electronic-warfare capability is primarily provided by Northrop Grumman.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 13.6 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 1,900 km/htop speed
  • range 2,346 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 30 tmax take-off weight
  • built 172made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 20 years ago, in 2006.
  • Top speed is 14.6× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Faster than sound: up to Mach 1.5 (sea-level speed of sound ≈ 1,235 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 13.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 5 African elephants (~6 t each).
  • Range of 2,346 km: 13× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
2006-08-15
introduced
2009
status
still flying
number built
172
role
carrier-based electronic-warfare aircraft
origin
🇺🇸 United States
makers
Boeing
engines
2× General Electric F414-GE-400
crew
2
length
18.3 m
wingspan
13.6 m
height
4.9 m
max take-off weight
30 t
top speed
1,900 km/h
range
2,346 km
ceiling
15,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family

↑ Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornetparent

Sources: Wikidata Q890185, Wikipedia: Boeing EA-18G Growler (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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