The Pentagon has begun to review its major electronic warfare platforms in a move that Adm. Jonathan Greenert says will work to study the situation across the spectrum, Breaking Defense reported Friday.
Sydney Freedberg writes the Pentagon intends for the study to evaluate the EA-18G Growler platform and three models of the F-35 joint strike fighter, among other systems.
Greenert, chief of naval operations, told the House Appropriations defense subcommittee Friday he is working with Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to identify how many F-35s the Pentagon should maintain in the 2020s against the Super Hornets, according to the report.
Greenert said he also has yet to speak with Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on the U.S. Navy’s unfunded requirements list for 2015, which includes 22 EA-18G Growlers, a standard strike fighter variant and Super Hornet, the report says.
Freedberg writes the Congress funded only 15 of those platforms.
Mabus said the F-18 Super Hornet line will operate though 2017 and that the Navy is working with Boeing to refurbish that fleet, Breaking Defense reports.
The Navy is also testing a new Growler variant that uses the aircrafts’ passive sensors, Freedberg reports.
