Boeing eyes converting F-15EX into Growler-like electronic attack jet

FARNBOROUGH 2024 — Boeing is actively studying whether it can turn the F-15EX Eagle II into a platform similar to an EA-18G Growler, the Navy’s electronic warfare jet, a company executive tells Breaking Defense.

“The Growler line has ended,” Rob Novotny, Boeing’s business development lead for the F-15, said in an interview with Breaking Defense over the weekend. The Growler is a modified version of the F/A-18, with the latter jet’s production slated to end in 2027. 

“There’s a lot of conversation internally, could we turn this [the F-15EX] into a Growler,” he added. “So we’re looking at some trade work.”

In pushing the Growler line of logic, Novotny argued for a different definition of stealth enabled by features like electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. Stealth, Novotny contended, shouldn’t be understood strictly in terms of low-observable coatings — where competitor Lockheed Martin currently enjoys a monopoly on stealth fighter production.

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“Stealth means, to me, I can go to a place where the enemy doesn’t want me to go, and I can operate in their environment, achieve my objective, and not be targeted,” he said. 

The F-15EX is already equipped with EW capabilities via its BAE-supplied Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System (EPAWSS). In seeking a Growler-like role for the jet, Boeing would presumably seek to expand the fighter’s EW capabilities with tools like additional jamming pods and other enabling subsystems. 

The F-15EX — the most modern version of the F-15 — hit initial operational capability following deliveries of the first operational combat jets to the Air National Guard in June. At the Farnborough air show here, Boeing is showcasing the F-15QA, a Qatari version of the jet that closely mirrors the design on order by the US Air Force. 

Novotny seemed bullish about the updated F-15’s prospects in international campaigns, which Boeing is pitching to customers like Saudi Arabia and Poland, while Indonesia has already committed to a buy and Israel is set for a large order of its own. The US Air Force’s own order has been somewhat in flux in recent years, and is set for a program of record for 98 fighters absent congressional intervention or further changes in future budgets. 

“I think what my big takeaway is, there’s a lot of excitement in the global defense market for fighter jets. And I mean, unfortunately, world events have created a kind of refocus on air superiority and air dominance platforms,” Novotny said.