An EA-18G Growler conducts an NGJ-MB flight test over Southern Maryland. (US Navy)
The new variant of the US Navy's AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) electronic warfare (EW) pod is now operational, fielded aboard US fighter jets deployed in the Middle East.
EA-18G Growler aircraft, outfitted with the new NGJ-MB variant, were deployed aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG). The CSG was recently tasked to the Middle East by the US Department of Defense amid growing tensions between Iran and Israel.
This is the first operational deployment of the NGJ-MB pods, which have yet to be tested in actual combat. The system could be pivotal in mitigating possible attacks by Iran on Israel or US assets in the region.
The EA-18G Growler is a two-seat, electronic attack variant of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, which can provide stand-off, escort, and self-protection jamming. The Growlers attached to the CSG were part of Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 133.
The NGJ architecture is a pod-mounted jamming capability that is designed to augment and replace the legacy AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) onboard the EA-18G electronic attack aircraft. The NGJ-MB is a fully self-sustained pod that generates its own power, cooling, and transmission and comprises an excitation chain that would include direct digital synthesis, high-speed memory (HSM)/digital radio frequency (RF) memory (DRFM), and field programmable gate array (FPGA) technology.
“NGJ provides enhanced airborne electronic attack (AEA) capabilities to disrupt, deny, and degrade enemy air defence and ground communication systems. It brings increased power and jamming capability at longer ranges,” according to a statement by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
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