US Navy receives first next-generation Growler jammer pods

Raytheon Intelligence & Space recently delivered its first ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) pods to the US Navy. The jammer pods are part of a system that will eventually replace the Boeing EA-18G Growler’s ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System.

Raytheon delivered the pods to the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Patuxent River, Maryland, on 7 July, the service announced on 8 August. The pods will be used to complete the jammer’s developmental test programme and start the operational test programme, the navy said in a statement. Initial operational capability (IOC) is scheduled for the second half of 2023.

The NGJ-MB has more power than the Growler’s ALQ-99 and the ability to target multiple systems, said Lieutenant Alexander Belbin, project officer with NAWCAD’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23.