Six U.S. Navy Growlers Deployed to Puerto Rico

M.A. Dworkin

Puerto Rico - To what seems to be an imminent sign of war with Venezuela, a contingent of six U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, roughly a full squadron, are now deployed at the reactivated Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, in Puerto Rico. This is a particularly notable addition to the ongoing build-up of U.S. forces in the Caribbean region that goes far beyond a typical show of force and a general bolstering of capacity to support current counter-drug operations.

The EA-18Gs now in Puerto Rico are critical force multipliers. Their deployment is indicative of what one would see in the lead-up to a kinetic operation centered heavily on strikes on targets in inland areas, such as ones the United States might carry out in Venezuela. 

Growlers could provide electronic warfare support for platforms launching standoff attacks or penetrating through enemy air defenses to get closer to their objectives. The jets could also help ensure the survivability of standoff munitions themselves. Other mission sets, including the insertion and/or extraction of special forces or other ground units, as well as combat search and rescue, would benefit from Growler support. In the context of Venezuela, the elements that currently make up that country’s air defense network do present varying degrees of threats that U.S. mission planners would have to take into account in any such operations.

A pair of Growlers has already shown their colors in highlighting their role in future operations as they took part in a new major show of force off the coast of Venezuela. As part of their mission, two F/A-18 Super Hornets flew right into the middle of the Gulf of Venezuela, which is bounded on three sides by that country’s national territory. The Hornets stayed in the relatively small body of water for over 40 minutes. This dramatic act, by openly sending fighter jets over a gulf bounded by Venezuelan territory is a new escalation in the pressure campaign against the Maduro regime.